Barcelona young lad Lamine Yamal gets Spain coach high rating
Barcelona are understood to be unhappy after Spain coach Luis de la Fuente compared youngster Lamine Yamal to two of the greatest players in the history of football Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
Yamal became the youngest player to start a game in the Champions League as he featured for Barcelona in their 1-0 win over Porto last week.
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The 16-year-old is also the youngest debutant in the history of Spain’s national team and became their youngest scorer when he netted against Georgia recently
Despite all that, his club are keen to manage expectations around their young player and according to Sport, the Blaugrana were not pleased following the recent quotes by De la Fuente.
Asked about Yamal, the Spain coach said: “He has fantastic potential and conditions. We have to take care of him, he is young.
“But, do you remember when Messi or Maradona were 16 years old? We should not put limits on these good footballers.
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“We must let them develop all their potential. That’s what we’re trying to do with this player here and at his club.”
Yamal went off the field in the second half of Barcelona’s win in Porto after suffering a stomach problem and eventually had to be replaced as Xavi’s side played for almost 10 minutes with a man down.
Despite that issue, the 16-year-old has recovered quickly and is expected to be fit to start against Granada in LaLiga on Sunday.