Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal has said he is focussed on becoming a legend at the club after a stunning breakout season with the Catalan giants.
Yamal is just 16 and came through the club’s La Masia youth academy before going on to score five goals and assist five in 37 La Liga games last season. He couldn’t help Barca win the league, though, as they finished 10 points adrift of Real Madrid.
There have been fears over Barcelona’s financial situation for a number of years and that has led to some talk that Yamal could be sold to ease them. Reports suggested that Premier League champions Manchester City, who are managed by former Barcelona midfielder turned coach Pep Guardiola, attempted to sign him last season.
Yamal committed to Barcelona
It appears Yamal, who registered an assist in Spain’s Euro 2024 opening day victory over Croatia on Saturday, has ended any hope of luring him from Barcelona.
“I hope to become a Barça legend. I want to stay here and do my best for many years”, he said.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are keen to tie him down to a long-term contract obce he turns 18 in June of 2025.
Once Yamal returns to his club, he will face something very different. Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick has replaced Xavi as coach, despite the club’s president Joan Laporta persuading him to withdraw his resignation before sacking him.
Yamal has previously stated how tough that was to understand, but added that he is looking forward to working under Flick next season.
“It was a very strange moment. At first he left, then he stayed… It was strange, because we saw the same thing that you saw too. [It was] very sad because for me he was the first coach in the elite that I’ve had, but these are things that happen in football.”
“The last thing I saw was when he was at Bayern, and also in the German national team. They have a fairly offensive game, quite direct. I’m very excited.”
There has also been plenty of talk over Guardiola’s City future. His current contract expires in 2025 and he is yet to signal his intention to continue, having been at the club since 2016. He previously spoke about it being “difficult” to find motivation to continue at the Etihad Stadium having won everything there is to win during his time with the club.
