Portuguese Jorge Mendes, agent of Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, gave advice to his client, which led to anger among Barcelona fans on various social media platforms.
Mendes is considered one of the best player agents in the history of the game, and he currently handles the agency of dozens of football stars around Europe, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Diaz, Bernardo Silva, and Marco Asensio.
In 2023, he took over Lamine Yamal’s business agency, and after a few months he succeeded in concluding a huge contract with Barcelona that guaranteed the player of Moroccan origin a high salary and great financial benefits, which placed him among the club’s elite players.
Advice from Lamine Yamal’s agent
In an interview with the newspaperToto SportItalian, Mendes said: “Without a doubt Ronaldo is the role model that emerging players should follow, not only for Yamal, but everyone should do so.”
He added: “If Yamal follows Ronaldo’s steps on and off the field, he will be at the top of the game’s pyramid for the next twenty years. I have no doubt that he will win the Ballon d’Or in the future, not once but many times.”
Mendes’ advice was met with anger from Barcelona fans, who saw it as a disparagement of club legend Lionel Messi, and an attempt by the agent to lure Lamine Yamal to the side of his Portuguese compatriot Ronaldo.
It is not common for one of Barcelona’s rising players to follow Ronaldo’s example, as he is a symbol of the arch-rivals Real Madrid, and it is customary for all the youngsters of the Catalan team to look up to Messi, but Mendes wants to break this Catalan habit.
Did you know about Lamine Yamal?
Yamal won the Golden Boy Award for the best emerging football player in Europe for the year 2024, issued by the newspaper “Tuttosport”, but he will not be able to attend the ceremony and receive the award in Italy, due to the Barcelona administration’s refusal to travel and sleep for the player, with the difficult match against Atletico Madrid approaching. Next Saturday, in the 18th round of the Spanish League.
What’s next for Amin Yamal?
Yamal – 17 international matches – will play a match that is theoretically within reach when Barcelona hosts its counterpart Leganes on Sunday evening at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium for the 17th round of the Spanish League.
Lamine Yamal’s numbers this season with Barcelona
Yamal scored 6 goals and provided 12 assists with Barcelona this season across all competitions. In the following table, the Barcelona star’s numbers are detailed in each tournament separately.
Lamine Yamal numbers with Barcelona 2024-2025
a race | match | purpose | Assist |
---|---|---|---|
Spanish League | 15 | 5 | 10 |
UEFA Champions League | 5 | 1 | 2 |
total | 20 | 6 | 12 |