Former Barcelona player heaps praise on Lamine Yamal: ‘This is something else’

One of the biggest positives for Barcelona to come from the Xavi Hernandez era is the emergence of Lamine Yamal.

The former manager handed the La Masia prodigy his debut when he was still 15 years old and then slowly integrated him into the team last season and the youngster has not looked back since.

Now regarded as one of the best young attackers in the game, Yamal won the UEFA Euro 2024 with Spain this summer where he was named the Best Young Player of the Tournament and is on track to win the Golden Boy Award this year.

Now 17 years old, Yamal has started the new season like a house on fire, having already scored one and assisted two goals in three La Liga matches under Hansi Flick.

Isaac Cuenca amazed by Lamine Yamal

Speaking in an interview with Mundo Deportivo, former Barcelona forward Isaac Cuenca has heaped praise on Lamine Yamal, stating that he has been blown away by what he has seen from the teenage wonderkid.

Recollecting an anecdote about Yamal and how he was shocked to see the 17-year-old shine in a training session, Cuenca said:

“I was at home and my nephew was always talking about Lamine Yamal because he listened to him at school, my daughter too.

“I hadn’t seen him yet and it happened that they often say that a lot of young people come up and a lot of comparisons are made with one or the other, but I didn’t really pay much attention to him.

“We have all been compared to stars and in the end, some achieve more and others less. In the case of Lamine Yamal, I spoke to Xavi to go and watch a Barça training session. Xavi opened the doors and I went to see him. I said: ‘OK, this is something else.’”

Cuenca then acknowledged that all the hype and praise surrounding was deserved, as he said:

“The comparisons are fair. He’s a very good player with a lot of potential. At just sixteen years old, what he is doing, what he did in the European Championship with Spain, little can be said.

“Now he has to enjoy himself, keep progressing and, above all, that Barça look after him, keep him and we’ll see what happens in a few years’ time.”

Advice to the youngsters

Someone who happened to come through La Masia and break into the Barcelona senior team, Cuenca also had some advice for the current crop of youngsters like Lamine, Pau Cubarsi, and others.

“I would tell them to be calm. Somehow, they are given the opportunity and they are responding,” he started off.

Continuing he added: “They take care of themselves because, as we have seen many times, the issue of injuries cannot be controlled very much, but whatever they can do to prevent, they should do it. They should enjoy the moment because they are doing very well.

“They have shown that they have the level and from there it’s about consolidating. I think they have the potential to consolidate and they should enjoy it.”