Lamine Yamal expresses his gratitude to Xavi for his Barcelona debut: “Not everybody would have let me”

Xavi Hernandez might be leaving at the end of the season. But the Spaniard will be leaving behind quite the legacy during his short stint at the club.

Under his leadership, Barcelona were able to once again win the league title. Most importantly, they were able to maintain a strong setup despite a series of economic woes.

Xavi’s ability to nurture young talents, in particular, helped the club unearth hidden gems such as Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde, among many others.

To that end, Lamine Yamal recently opened up on Xavi, expressing gratitude towards the Barcelona coach for putting faith in him.

Yamal’s message to Xavi

“I will always be grateful to Xavi, because not everybody would have let me debut at 15,” Yamal said, in an interview with UEFA.

“This season he has given me minutes in almost every match and in every match he asks me to enjoy it and do what I always do in training. He told me that things will go well.”

“When I entered the Camp Nou for the first time, my ears stoped and I could no longer head anything,” he added.

Talking about the ethics at La Masia, Yamal added, “At La Masia, they always told me to be happy and to always believe that when you think you are bad there will always be something worse.”

Lamine Yamal is extremely grateful to Xavi (Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

“And above all to respect people and that you will never be better or worse than anyone else, yes it is a dream for me and I think for all the kids who play youth football their dream is to reach the first team,” he added.

Yamal’s comments came against the backdrop of his excellent form, which has helped Barcelona to gain some momentum in La Liga.

The forward notably scored a brace in Barça’s 3-3 draw with Granada this midweek. He was also very important in recent victories against Alaves and CA Osasuna.

Overall, Yamal has been involved in 10 goals in all competitions this season, which is extremely impressive for a 16-year-old.

As highlighted by the player himself, Yamal had made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 15, breaking all sorts of records at the time.

Since then, the youngster has vastly improved his game, under the leadership of Xavi. Although there is much still to be done, Xavi’s guidance has greatly helped the player improve his game.

It is, therefore, barely surprising that Yamal has been affected by Xavi’s decision to quit. He is not the only one either, with the likes of Joao Cancelo and Jules Kounde also upset by the coach’s decision.