In the midst of all the fan agenda, propaganda and counter-propaganda, is the clear need to protect the growing Lamine Yamal
By the time Lamine Yamal left the pitch at the Allianz Arena on Sunday night, the internet was buzzing, most of it mockery. Spain had lost the Nations League final to Portugal on penalties, and Yamal – once again the youngest player on the pitch at 17 – had not scored, had not assisted, had not dazzled.
For some, that was enough. The criticism was quick and blunt. Memes circulated. Side-by-sides with Cristiano Ronaldo, 23 years his senior, were shared and reshared. “Ronaldo showed him levels,” one post read.
It was, in truth, a quiet night by Yamal’s standards. He was tidy in possession but mostly muzzled by Nuno Mendes; worked hard off the ball but got dribbled past for Portugal’s second equaliser. On the other hand, it was his no-backlift delivery that caused commotion in the box leading to Spain’s goal.
But of course in football, especially for those tipped to be generational, adequate isn’t always good enough. A quiet night is cue for the storm, especially in the high-stakes fixtures where it is winner-takes-all and loser-be-damned.
And that, in essence, is the situation now facing Spain and Barcelona’s 17-year-old star.
Yamal is still a teenager, not legally an adult until 13 July. But in footballing terms, he has done more than many players spend their careers dreaming of. He helped Spain to the Euro 2024 trophy, setting records for youngest goals and assists and becoming the youngest player to win a major international trophy, younger than the great Pele with Brazil in 1958.
He helped Barcelona win La Liga last season, finishing with the most assists in the Spanish top-flight by some distance. He has dominated clásicos, and ended the 2024-25 season with 18 goals and 25 assists across all competitions.
Those numbers belong to an elite creator, not a growing teen talent. In every way, Yamal is already among the top players in the world.
It’s no surprise then that he’s been compared to Messi and even Ronaldo. Those comparisons are both a compliment and a curse. Yamal himself has handled them maturely. “Messi is the greatest,” he said earlier this year. “But I want to have my own career.”
What he didn’t say, but might be learning now, is that part of that career – if you are great – is being torn down before you are fully built.
Portugal’s win in the Nations League final didn’t really come because Yamal underperformed. Mendes equalised emphatically for Portugal after Yamal’s ball in had helped Spain take the lead. Ronaldo equalised after Oyarzabal, and Spain faltered from the spot in the shootout, Yamal himself watching on from the sidelines having played 105 minutes as a 17-year-old among senior internationals.
The more telling question is why a 17-year-old was pushed so hard into the centre of both the build-up and the post-match conversation.
It’s simple: his supporters, who watch him every day cast a spell on opponents for Barcelona, pushed by that invisible force that pushes all football fans, want to advance his case in any talk of the world’s best; and then the anti-Barcelona supporters, livid as they scroll through their X feeds, perform the counter-hype.
Cristiano Ronaldo, for one, wasn’t having it when reporters brought the annoying little business before his tribunal. “He’s 17 years old,” said one of the Greats, who has walked this road before. “Please, leave him alone. Let him enjoy football. He will win a lot of things.”
Except for the fact of course that no one will leave him alone. This is football now. The era of media sensationalism, 90 minutes on the pitch and then all the fallout afterwards.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick addressed this at the end of the season when he said: “Lamine is a genius. But if you want to play at the highest level for 15 years, you have to train well and be mentally at the highest level. It might look easy now, but it’s not. Lamine is smart, he knows that talent alone isn’t enough.”
This is the duality Yamal must live in. On the one hand, he’s Barcelona’s most naturally gifted player since Messi. On the other, he’s 17 and will play many seasons for club and country under suffocating scrutiny. If you’ve been around 17-year-olds, you would know that not many of them can handle that well.
Internally at Barcelona, they will understand that they need to protect him. Not just physically, but emotionally. They will have to shield him when necessary from media responsibilities, have to ease his exposure, make sure he keeps his head in the game.
If done properly, and if Yamal himself of course puts the work in, not just with the ball but also working on his mentality and approach to off-the-pitch issues, it can fuel a 15-year career at the top. But there remains the concern that the fall, if it were to ever come, can be brutal. He wouldn’t be the first teenager crushed by the weight of early greatness.
