“Prodigy Lamine Yamal Makes History in FC Barcelona Debut at Just 15 Years Old”

Prodigy Lamine Yamal didn’t need any lead time.

No sooner had FC Barcelona’s record-breaking debutant set foot on the pitch of the legendary Camp Nou at the tender age of 15 years, 9 months and 16 days than he was already testing the Betis Sevilla goalkeeper.

Three minutes later, the exceptional talent chipped perfectly into the penalty area to ex-Bundesliga professional Ousmane Dembélé – Yamal made a powerful impression in front of almost 90,000 spectators.

A first brief appearance after being substituted on (83rd) in the 4-0 (3-0) win on Saturday was enough not only to make his highly decorated coach Xavi go into raptures.

“He can shape an era in the club and become a very special player,” said the 43-year-old, world champion, European champion and multiple Champions League winner as a player: “He has an inborn talent in the last third that is difficult to find .”

So a new Lionel Messi who spoiled Barca for so many years?

The Spanish press apparently believes in that. “Barca prodigy makes history,” the headlined Brand after the victory that brought the Catalans around German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen a step closer to the championship: “Remember this name.”

The Spanish newspaper went on to say: “He stunned everyone. He made the leap at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 16 days, an age when most players dare not even dream of playing in the premier league – and when we mere mortals have not made up our minds yet what we want to do with our lives.”

World Eleven from France saw “Barcelona’s new darling”, the English one Sun reported on the “best La Masia project since Lionel Messi”. And the Italian Gazzetta dello Sport said: “A new star seems to have been born in La Masia.”

It’s already in the club books. The previous record Barcas since the introduction of the Spanish league in 1929 was set by Vincente Martinez in 1941 at the age of 16 years, nine months and seven days.

Across all leagues, only four players had been younger than Yamal on their first appearance. At the top of this statistic is Luka Romero, who made his Mallorca debut on June 24, 2020 aged 15 years, seven months and six days.

Back to Yamal, who has been trained at Barca’s talent factory La Masia since he was seven: he can score goals, present them and is full of confidence, Xavi enthused. “He doesn’t look 15 years old. He’s a lot more mature. I see him training and I see he’s ready, so I brought him on.”

Yamal prefers to play on the right flank, but can actually play in all positions in the front line.

In terms of player type, he is a bit reminiscent of Messi, but above all resembles the current Barca star and former BVB player Ousmane Dembélé.

Yamal has an explosive attack, is difficult to separate from the ball and shoots at the opposing goal from all positions – and often with success. “He’s a player who can make the difference,” concluded Xavi.

The left foot, who is only 165 centimeters tall, will have to live with great expectations and Messi comparisons from now on.

Yamal is a bit ahead of the Barca icon when it comes to debut: world champion Messi only made his first competitive appearance for the top Spanish club in 2004 at the age of 17.

And at the latest with Yamal’s successful debut at the weekend, the fuss from a few weeks ago will be forgotten.

For disciplinary reasons, he had not been called up for the Spain U17 national team.

Barcelona also sanctioned the attacking player, temporarily suspending him for four youth games.

A little later, on April 22 against Atlético, Yamal made his debut in the Catalans’ professional squad, but didn’t play a minute. In September last year, Xavi had the youngster train with the professionals around Robert Lewandowski for the first time.

In the 2021/22 season, the son of a Moroccan father and a Guinean mother was still in the U16s. He then made a big leap into Barca’s U19s last summer.

There, Yamals regularly meets opponents who are up to four years older. Even Barca high-flyer Ansu Fati didn’t make such a big leap in his youth.

Yamal never had to drive far anyway, he was born around 30 kilometers away from Barcelona in Mataro. For this reason, in recent years he has been able to enjoy the La Masia school and has internalized Barcelona football.

The fact that Yamal has a great future is also indicated by the 15-year-old’s recent change of advisor. From now on he will be advised by star agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents Ansu Fati, for example.

Yamal is reportedly set to sign his first professional contract for the new season. From Barca’s perspective, of course, preferably with the Catalans.

But the prodigy, who celebrates his birthday in July, is said to be on the cards with his meteoric rise at top clubs across Europe.

With Sports Information Service (SID)