Liga, Girona – FC Barcelona:- Lamine Yamal, 47 matches and the ghost of Ansu Fati

At the age where we procrastinate on our sofa in front of TikTok, Lamine Yamal is not idle. 47 matches so far, 48 this Saturday against Girona – if Xavi gives him playing time – and maybe even almost 60 after the Euro in a few weeks. At 16, the new star of FC Barcelona is putting on minutes like pearls. His playing time corresponds neither to what FC Barcelona expected of him at the start of the season, nor to the normal progression of a kid of his age. His body hasn’t finished growing and he’s already putting up with some crazy sequences. So far, so good. Apart from small muscular problems in the fall, Yamal continues without flinching or staggering.

FC Barcelona is pressing him. Does he have a choice? Yes of course. But the kid has too much talent and the club needs too much to sell a new marvel and a new storytelling. Downgraded for several seasons, unable to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in the last five years, the club is chasing its glory and as it no longer has a money in the bank, is banking on its young people to sell better days. The idea is simple since it has already worked: Barça will regain its splendor thanks to its bottle class. Lamine Yamal is the embodiment of this new hope. “He is different, but there are indeed moments when he can be like Messi“, explained Xavi who can no longer do without him. Because in addition to selling dreams, Yamal wins matches, which is never bad news.

This is why the teenager, or at least his release clause, is already worth a billion euros. Like Pedri, Gavi or Ansu Fati before him. Ansu Fati, however, provided a concrete example to FC Barcelona of ​​what should not be done. At 16, he also started in a club that was better armed at the time (Messi and Suarez at his side). But the stars’ injuries make him skip the steps. He became the youngest scorer in the club’s history in La Liga, then the youngest player to play in the Champions League 17 days later. The Fati fantasy invades all of Catalonia. He played 33 matches in the first season in 2019/2020. A tear in the meniscus slowed him down during the second, with an absence of 305 days. But when he returns, Messi is no longer there. Fati recovers the iconic number 10, the machine races away.

Injuries to the ischio barely slow down the runaway. 56 matches during the 2022/2023 season when he is only 19 years old. But the left winger is already less explosive. Today, he is vegetating on the Brighton bench: 2 starts and 2 goals in the Premier League. Fati is paying for the overheating of his early career, he underwent 4 knee operations at just 21 and the enthusiasm went down as quickly as it rose. He is no longer worth a billion and the Catalans could even let him leave for less than 30 million euros now. Has Barça learned any lessons from it? No, of course. At 16, Gavi had played 57 matches (including 44 starts) and Pedri 74 at 18. The first is still treating a ruptured cruciate ligament, the second, who has missed 22 matches this season, has a series of muscular problems.

“Lamine Yamal has started too many matches in a row. He is only 16 and we are protecting him. He’s just a young teenager“, warned Xavi. But his management is confronted with a principle of reality. Barça must win to exist and to win, it needs Yamal. No matter the price. “The poor economic situation of the club and the poor performances of more experienced players make the contribution of young people essential. In this regard, Xavi does not hold back, as Guardiola did not hold back at the time with Busquets or Pedro“, informs us Guillermo Marcos, journalist at Eurosport Spain.

Because the FCB is still aware that playing 50 professional matches at the age of 16 is not natural, it has warned the Spanish federation: it wants to free up its little treasure for the Euro or the Olympic Games, but not for both. In short, do as I say, not as I do….