Lamine Yamal makes feelings clear on Barcelona starlet Hamza Abdelkarim

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·28 September 2026

Lamine Yamal makes feelings clear on Barcelona starlet Hamza Abdelkarim

Several of the signings FC Barcelona made in the last summer transfer window are already proving to be valuable for their new team. This is clearly the case with Rodri Hernandez, who was signed despite the midfield not being an area requiring urgent reinforcement, while other players like Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, and Joao Cancelo, etc., are all performing at a good level.

However, one can argue that it has been the youngster Hamza Abdelkarim who has surprised the most. Only a few days after signing permanently for the Blaugrana club, he was called up by the Egyptian national team for the World Cup, and he also played an important role for his team in the tournament.

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Furthermore, he also impressed for Barcelona during the preseason, becoming the club’s top scorer. Following the start of the season, he has remained a regular part of Hansi Flick’s plans. Owing to this rapid growth, there are very high hopes about his future.

One individual who expressed these high hopes was another Blaugrana youngster who has already made it to the very top, i.e., Lamine Yamal. As MARCA has reported, the Spaniard appeared in an interview with Sport On and talked at some length about Abdelkarim. Yamal was clear that the Egyptian has all the needed abilities to become a great footballer:

“He is a player with a bright future. He is still young and has all the qualities to become a great striker. I think he will make the most of his time with the team and score many goals. We have all seen it. He is a very adaptable player. We make a great team. We always try to make him feel comfortable.”

The Spanish winger also had some advice for Abdelkarim:

“The most important thing is for him to stay calm, feel confident when he plays and remain focused, and he will have plenty of time. Nobody will ask anything of him, and nobody will blame him for anything. He will need time to adapt, and that is normal. We have all been through this.

He is coming from a different league and a different country. He just needs to stay calm and composed. We all know how good he is and that he is a prolific goalscorer. Everything will come in due course. So my advice to him is to stay calm and focused. He will become an excellent player.”

Yamal was confident Hamza Abdelkarim can reach the level of his legendary compatriot, Mohammed Salah:

“Salah is a great and important player, and he is one of the best African players in the English Premier League. Hamza is a player who has the skills and ability to achieve that, and I hope he becomes a legend of Egyptian football.”

Meanwhile, the winger also talked highly of the Egyptian national team:

“We all know that Egypt have players of the highest level, and the number of Egyptians in Europe is constantly increasing, so I think we all expected this level of performance. It was a very tough match against Argentina, and we have to bear in mind that, over time, African teams will achieve better results. The Egyptian national team stands out not only physically but also technically, and nobody was surprised by this level because Egypt have some great players.”

As Lamine Yamal said in this interview, Hamza Abdelkarim still has a lot of time, and does not need to rush to prove himself in one of the biggest clubs in world football. Hopefully, he will take full advantage of the opportunity to train and play with great players at Barcelona, like Yamal, and realize the potential that he has shown early in his career.