SUMMARY
- Recently, Javier Aguirre praised Lamin Yamal, which has raised the attention of the fans.
- Moreover, Javier Aguirre has compared Yamal with Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi is highly idolized in the soccer world. Several young stars look very keen to learn from the Argentine, and a few have also earned the distinction of being the ‘next Messi’ thanks to their great performances. One such player is FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who has had a fantastic breakthrough season in 23/24. The player has received a lot of praise due to his quick feet and dribbling qualities, almost winning comparisons with Lionel Messi.
Lamine Yamal has the most dribbles completed per 90 in Europe….
(Player with minimum 500 league minutes) pic.twitter.com/LnohFaKyJg
— 🕊️ (@R1FCB) October 14, 2023
However, the recent praise from RCD Mallorca manager Javier Aguirre for the 16-year-old has raised everyone’s eyebrows. The Mexican compared Lamin Yamal with Lionel Messi, but in doing so, he might have hurt the Barca fans’ sentiments.
RCD Mallorca manager upsets FC Barcelona while praising Lamine Yamal
Javier Aguirre was talking to the press after his team lost to FC Barcelona 1-0 on matchday 27 of the La Liga 23/24 season. The Mexican looked particularly impressed by Lamine, who proved decisive on the night. Javier Aguirre said that the 16-year-old’s game on the night reminded him of another FC Barcelona icon, Lionel Messi. But, during the press conference, the Mexican had a slip of the tongue as he used the word ‘rat’ for both Messi and Lamine.
Aguirre said, “The first time I saw Leo Messi 21 years ago, I only needed 5 minutes to say: ‘He’s a rat’. Lamine Yamal also looks like a rat.” However, he did not forget to convey his good wishes to Lamine. Javier believes that the youngster can soon become a celebrated figure in Barcelona, just like Lionel Messi.
Javier Aguirre (Mallorca manager): “The first time I saw Leo Messi 21 years ago, I only needed 5 minutes to say: ‘He’s a rat’. Lamine Yamal also looks like a rat. If he continues like this, he will bring a lot of happiness to FC Barcelona.”
byu/MrVISKman insoccer
However, it is not the first time that Javier Aguirre has crossed the line while praising a player. A similar accident happened in 2019 when the Mexican insulted Lionel Messi while talking about the Argentine’s greatness. He recalled the first time Javier had seen the Inter Miami player play in a Copa del Rey game for Barca Youth against Sevilla.
The Mallorca manager recalled (via Marca), “There was no need to know who that dwarf was. He took the ball and… goal. Again… and goal. He scored three goals in 10 minutes. He was a little hairy guy. He looked like a little mouse. But what a player!” Clearly, the former Atletico Madrid manager has a unique way of praising players.
Lamine’s goal gives FC Barcelona the victory against Mallorca
FC Barcelona hoisted bottom half La Liga team RCD Mallorca in a matchday 27 fixture of the Spanish League at Olympic Stadium, Barcelona. The game was a tight affair as both teams worked hard to gain a favorable result. Barcelona was seeing much of the ball but found it difficult to breach Mallorca’s defense. That was until the 73rd minute when Lamine showed his class by scoring with an amazing curl shot.
The player showed extreme composure to make the perfect angle to shoot. When he found the angle right, Lamine Yamal let the ball fly, which ended in the top left corner. FC Barcelona profited with the goals as the club moved to the second position on the La Liga table with 61 points.
With that goal, Lamine Yamal’s G/A tally for the season rises to 13 in the first 37 games. The 16-year-old, at this tender age, has performed better than many misfiring stars at the club. FC Barcelona would be hoping for more such performances from Lamine as they take on SSC Napoli in the 2nd leg of the UCL Q/Fs.
As for RCD Mallorca, the team would like to make history by winning the first Copa del Rey in the club’s history for the first time since 2003. Mallorca faces Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey 23/24 on April 7, 2024.
