Lamine Yamal, the child prodigy that Barça and Spain are in love with
The fever that Moroccan football has unleashed around the world has a new name, Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana, and an age that has Barça fans stunned: 16 years old.
Yamal was born in Esplugas de Llobregat in 2007 and quickly made a name for himself in Barça's youth ranks. Like all players with projection, Yamal started training with the senior team as early as the youth team in 2022.
The economic crisis that Barça is going through is benefiting the youth system, either to have players from the reserve team in the first team on a permanent basis, as is the case with Pedri and Gavi, or to free up cash and free up wages, as is the case with Ansu Fati.
Yamal and Abde are the last two players of Moroccan descent who have made a name for themselves at Barça. Abde has decided to play for Morocco and has been called up by Regragui for the official matches against Liberia and Burkina Faso.
In the case of Yamal, Luis de Fuente is expected to call him up for Spain for the qualifiers for the UEFA European Championship in Germany in 2024. In this case, Yamal would not be obliged to definitively renounce Morocco if his future with Spain changes in the coming months. The striker is an international with Spain's U-16s, with whom he has played four games to one with the U-15s.
To avoid cases like Munir's, FIFA changed the rule in 2020 and approved that players who have played up to three matches before the age of 21, even if they are official, can change national team.
The Barça striker has put Raphinha's presence in Xavi's starting eleven on the ropes after a great game at La Cerámica in Barça's win over Villarreal. His ability in the penalty area and his ability to run away with the ball at the age of 16 means that there are high hopes for his future.
His future depends on him establishing himself in Barça's first team and deciding whether to play for Spain or Morocco. His father has said that "my son has not yet made the decision whether to play for Morocco or Spain". The problem will be that the Catalan club wants to clean up its books by selling its youth gems and ends up doing without the player in the coming years.
The case of Ansu Fati has shocked many fans who were sold the idea that he would be the next Messi and even inherited the 10. But a knee injury that was complicated and the little confidence that Xavi has in the player, forcing the club to give him up, release wages and wait for him to be revalued in the Premier League.
