Messi, Ronaldinho in – Lamine Yamal picks his all-time greatest Barcelona lineup | OneFootball

Barcelona return to training tomorrow and it will thus be a special day for not only the coaching staff but also for the dressing room.

The day will only be made sweeter by the fact that it is Lamine Yamal’s 18th birthday, and in all likelihood, the day he is officially handed the number 10 shirt.

Over the past year and a half, the youngster has made the impossible seem possible, helped change the mentality of the team and established himself as a bona fide starter all at the age of just 17. The coming season, needless to say, sees massive expectations pinned on him.

Yamal picks his best XI

In a recent interaction with Barça One, the young star was asked to pick his all-time Barcelona XI, including players from the past and the present.

Given the sheer quality the club has seen and the legends it has housed over the years, it is not surprising that Yamal was excited about the challenge.

He began from the goal where he picked Victor Valdes, the only homegrown goalkeeper to have scripted a historic legacy at the club.

“In goal, I say Victor Valdes, because in my head he is the most historic goalkeeper we have had and the one I have seen play.”

Moving to the defence, he opted to go for a three-man backline and thus did not pick any fullbacks but only central defenders.

“In defence, I say Gerard Pique, Puyol and Mascherano,” he said, picking the three greatest defenders in the club’s history.

The midfield, needless to say, was the most difficult department for Yamal to pick for the club has seen several big names render their services to the crest over the years.

“In the centre of the field, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, obviously,” he began.

Yamal even opted to name an extra member in the department, particularly in the attacking midfield, because he had no space to accommodate him in the forward line.

“I will put Ronaldinho, because in attack I already know who I will put and I will not have space.”

Finally, Yamal revealed his all-time greatest Barcelona forward trio to be the MSN partnership that tore through European defences year after year in the last decade.

“Up Messi obviously, and I wanted to put Neymar because he is my favourite player and as a striker, Luis Suarez, for me, he is top.”