Lamine Yamal's 'carpe diem'

BarcelonaLamine Yamal celebrates the passage into adulthood with a birthday party in which the most important personalities will not be lacking VIP. It's the end of a holiday that has been full of excitement and that he has lived uninhibitedly, like his football, before returning to undergo medical tests and begin the preseason. He passed through Sicily, where he was linked to the YouTuber Fati Vázquez; to Brazil, where he clarified he was "single and happy" and was seen with Neymar and surfer Gabriel Medina; to Ibiza, where he didn't hesitate to take photos with singers Ozuna and Bad Gyal; to Marbella and Seville; and, finally, to Shanghai for a publicity stunt. A true Instagram fan, he's been responsible for publicizing most of the destinations he's visited, always accompanied by his cousin Mohamed Abde and his childhood best friend, Souhaib.

Lamine Yamal's holiday trip And the way he portrayed it on Instagram—whether he was stopping here or there, whether he was sleeping on a plane or partying in Ibiza—has raised a storm. Even in a recent interview with the Polish outlet Foot Truck TV, Szczesny was asked about the subject. "Today I don't see any warning signs. I think his attitude toward football, toward life, is what makes him the player he is. And it's as if, really, you can't change someone's personality." Hansi Flick, in an interview with Barça One in which he reviewed the season, gave him a warning: "He's a genius. And he's 17 years old. We must help him. So far, everything is going well. If he wants to play at the highest level for the next 15 years, he must train very well and prepare himself mentally. He's intelligent. Not everything is about doing it. Like Raphinha, who has a lot of faith in him," the coach remarked. A few weeks earlier, he had praised him for his performance in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

"We can't know what will happen from now on, but it must be said that, in addition to being daring, he's also a very clever and astute footballer. There are players who are very clever, others who are very clever, and he has it all. It's not just a question of talent: he has the mentality and the ideal character to be an elite player," in his first steps in the first team, with whom he began training under Xavi Hernández. Lamine Yamal debuted at 15. "He can become a legendary footballer, but everything takes a process. Nowadays, it's all praise and adulation, but he's very clear about it. He's very focused and very mature for his age. But we'll be doing him a disservice if all we do is praise him so much," said Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente recently.

Lamine Yamal is just the way he comes from, and that's why he's not only a great asset as a footballer, but his ease also makes him a great advertising icon: he expresses himself well, without shame, and doesn't hesitate when it comes to signing up for commercials, even if he's sporting some blue and red Adidas cleats. It's impossible to separate his unabashed football from a character that goes in the same direction. "When he came up to train with the first team at just 15 years old, there were some teammates he already knew, like Gavi, Balde, and Ansu, but he didn't need anyone to look after him. There are kids who, when they come up, just don't look out of place; he showed his daring," continues the same source. Lamine Yamal is neither intimidated nor cowered, although in his first season he was just a 16-year-old, who made a huge physical change with the specific physical plan parallel to his natural growth that Xavi and the technical effort prepared for him.

In his first season in the elite, it was still difficult for some totems like Lewandowski to fully trust him. The Pole viewed with suspicion that such a young kid was stepping on his toes, but Lamine Yamal had no shame. In the friction that can sometimes arise in a highly competitive environment like a top-level locker room, there is a revealing episode from a day when Lewandowski confronted Lamine Yamal and the latter told him "shut up and press." The two also argued more than once in the middle of a match, but the striker eventually understood that he needs the young talent from Rocafonda to the point of publicly praising him.

The importance of Lamine Yamal being "well accompanied"

The same source who followed Lamine Yamal's first steps in the locker room insists on the importance of him being "well accompanied": from the coaches, to his entourage, to the club. His closest family circle is his mother, Sheila (who, along with her current partner, has had Keyne, Lamine Yamal's younger brother) and his father, Mounir. Although his mother's side maintains a more discreet profile, his father is much more active on social media, and also much better known. "We already know what his family circle is like. It's the same as he's had in recent years," conclude people familiar with the player's life, who also spent the summer accompanied by his cousin, Mohamed, and his friend, Souhaib.

"Neymar had a group of paid friends who only waited for him to go out partying and kept him entertained," warns the same source. The profiles of Lamine Yamal's two faithful squires are different, starting with his cousin, with whom he has maintained a close relationship since childhood; Both grew up in Rocafonda and Mohamed has often acted as a chauffeur for the Barça talent. In an interview in Culemanía He stated that one of the "best decisions" the family had made was "taking him to La Masia" as a child.

Now, Lamine Yamal turns 18 and will inherit the number 10 shirt, having already broken a long list of records for precocity: he was the youngest starter, scorer, and assist provider in La Liga; the youngest to score a brace in La Liga; the youngest debutant and scorer for Spain; the youngest Barça player to make his Champions League debut; the youngest assist provider in the Champions League; the youngest to play in a Champions League knockout tie; the youngest to play in a Barça-Madrid match; the youngest Barça player to reach 50 first-team appearances; as well as the youngest debutant, assist provider, and player to play in a Euro 2020 knockout tie, a competition he won in his first appearance and with a decisive role. The Barça diamond.