Pure history at the Camp Nou. The day a historic man like Joaquín said goodbye to the Blaugrana stadium, at 41 years old, a boy of only 15 years and 290 days made his debut. Forward Lamine Yamal won the affection of the public when he came on for Gavi in the 83rd minute and became the youngest footballer to wear the Barça shirt in the League. Earlier than Vicenç Martínez (16 years, 9 months and 5 days). Smaller than Ansu Fati (16 years, 9 months and 25 days). More inexperienced than Bojan (just 17 years). Younger than Gavi (17 years and 24 days). A treasure from the Barcelona youth academy that works as a right winger with a changed leg. A third year ESO student. One of the 51 footballers of the anther who resides in La Masia. In fact, he has lived in the Blaugrana residence since he was 7 years old.
Yamal was born in Esplugues de Llobregat to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother and also lived in Mataró and Granollers as a child. Until Barça captured him. He is a talent for whom an immense future is predicted and Xavi has incorporated him into first team training weeks ago. Before Atlético and Rayo he had already been on the bench, but it was not until this Saturday that Lamine Yamal (he does not like to be called just Yamal) made his debut. For a long time he was led by Iván de la Peña as his representative, always attentive to what is happening in the lower categories of Barcelona, but now his agent is the powerful Jorge Mendes.
In addition to being the youngest debutant in the history of Barça, he became the fifth earliest of all the editions of the League behind the Majorcan player Luka Romero (15 years and 219 days), Sansón del Celta (15 years and 255 days) , Irastoza de la Real (15 years, 288 days), and Óscar Ramón del Zaragoza (15 years, 289 days).
Just coming on Lamine Yamal had a wonderful chance to score. His kick ran into the body of goalkeeper Rui Silva. He didn't look cut off by a long shot and then hit a good bounce pass from the edge from one side to the other. With great ease. As if it wasn't his first day of his. With the addition that he has made his debut with the seniors without having done so with the subsidiary.
Ansu Fati, Bojan, Gavi, Messi. Names that caused a sensation when they were released and that entered like a plane into the dynamics of the first team. Just when the Camp Nou celebrates its last games before its total renovation, Lamine Yamal emerges. Who knows if he is called to be a capital footballer of the new stadium when it is finished, starting in 2026. Now, the first thing that Barcelona has to do is tie up his future and have the boy sign his first professional contract. The club has been at it for a long time. “He is a boy with super special qualities. If he continues with this attitude he will go a long way”, concluded the Barcelona technical secretary, Jordi Cruyff. "When I was 15 years old, I used to play in my neighborhood team," summarized Raphinha.
