Lamine Yamal: “It’s amazing to inspire children as Messi did”
In an exclusive interview with AM850, Lamine Yamal recognizes the rapid rise that his career has had and that cause comparisons with Messi
The striker of Barcelona Lamine Yamal declared AM850 that it is incredible to have young followers who admire him in the same way that he was looking for inspiration in his day Lionel Messi.
Lamine Yamal17, has scored 14 goals and has given 22 assists this season, which has kept the Barcelona With options in the three competitions he faces this Saturday: the final of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid, followed by the semifinal of the Champions League against Inter Milan.
As a result, it has quickly become an idol for a new generation of fans, and its shirt is one of the best selling in the club’s official store and the most seen in the stands of the Olympic stadium.
“It’s amazing,” said AM850 as part of the new campaign Powerade that presents the movie “The 304“In reference to his neighborhood.” When I was a child, I wore Neymar, Messi shirts, of all these players, so seeing children with my shirt means that I am their inspiration, at least in football.
“It’s something that I never thought would happen so fast: (see) those 13 -year -old children with the shirt of a boy who is only four years older than them. It’s amazing.
“My mother always tells me to think of (how important it is); that does not happen to anyone going to a place and seeing a child with your shirt. It is something that makes me very happy and is one of the things that I like the most.”
Yamal’s rise in football has been fast. Since he debuted with 15 years almost two years ago, on April 29, 2023, he has won the European Championship with Spain and a series of individual awards.
Earlier this week, he won the best debut award of the year at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2025 Awards, which adds to the Kopa trophy and the Golden Boy trophy that won last year.
However, despite his rapid ascent to the top of football, Yamal affirms that he has not lost the values that his parents instilled in his parents while growing in Rocafonda, a neighborhood of Mataró, a city located 30 km north of Barcelona.
“My parents have been my reference in everything,” he added. “Everyone tells me that I have a little of my mother and a little of my father. I think that in the field I have a lot of my father and out of the field I have a lot of my mother.
“They are two people with whom I have grown and who have taught me everything. They have fought for me. The love my father is unimaginable. Thanks to him I have learned the love that you have to the family, because it is a person who gives people a lot of love.
“That’s why I think everything I have and what I will have is thanks to them. I always say that I can never appreciate it enough, but I will try.”
Having such a media profile has some disadvantages for a teenager, and Yamal jokes with AM850 saying that the time he would like to spend with his friends now dedicates him to giving interviews.
It also has limitations in what you can do with your friends, since public spaces are not really an option, but states that rewards far exceed any inconvenience.
“Of course I miss things (which a 17 -year -old normal boy would do), but he would not change anything,” says Yamal. “After all, be able to see my happy little brother, having a wonderful childhood, is something that fills me with happiness. “Seeing the tranquility my mother and father have is something that I would never have imagined. That my grandmother calls me and tells me how good it is. It is priceless. I would not change it for anything.”
