Liverpool and Real Madrid icon gushes over Barcelona wonderkid – ‘An absolute joy’ | OneFootball

Lamine Yamal kicked off the 2025/26 season in spectacular fashion. The 18-year-old Barcelona wonderkid set up Raphinha for the opener against Mallorca and sealed his victory on the opening day of La Liga with a stunning stoppage-time goal.

The football world was left marvelling at the brilliance of the La Masia sensation, who has already become the undisputed face of this Blaugrana side.

Steve McManaman lavishes praise on Lamine

One of the most notable reactions to Lamine’s display against Mallorca came from Steve McManaman.

The Real Madrid and Liverpool legend showered praise on the Barcelona forward live on Premier Sports (h/t SPORT) shortly after the final whistle on Saturday night.

“We already talked about him at the start of the match. We talked about him last year. He’s the star of La Liga, and what he did in the final moments of the match was absolutely brilliant,” said McManaman.

Off to a brilliant start. (Photo by Rafa Babot/Getty Images)

Continuing, he added: “He has the ability to drift inside onto his stronger left foot, but also to go down the right. He’s got everything at the moment, and he’s going to get better.”

However, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star had a note of caution for Barça regarding how they manage the winger in certain contexts.

“I’ve said it before on several occasions: I hope Barça rest him a bit and don’t necessarily use him in games that are already won because his talent will infuriate the opposition,” McManaman noted.

After warning that the Barcelona No. 10’s dribbling could provoke rivals when matches are already decided, the former England international once again underlined his admiration for the teenager, saying:

“What a player we have here. It’s an absolute joy to come here and watch him play.”