Barcelona star Lamine Yamal opens up on his future, Messi, and why he may not stay on the wing forever | OneFootball

Despite still being only 18 years of age, the FC Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has truly become one of the biggest names in European football. Thus, a lot of eyes would be on him when Spain take on Saudi Arabia in their second game of the group stage in the World Cup, a match than can significantly determine their fate in the competition.

The winger made it clear that he is still not 100% fit, and would still need some time to recover fully from the injury he suffered at the end of the last season. Still, he is expected to start against the Saudis on Saturday.

Ahead of this game, the young Barcelona winger appeared in an interview with El Pais, and as SPORT has highlighted, made some interesting comments about his game on the pitch, life off the pitch, and on football in general.

The winger believed he would have to play more centrally as a result of defenders ganging up to stop him on the wing:

“Three players mark me. And the only place where three players can’t really mark you is in the middle. There are too many people there. As time goes on, I’ll end up playing there, because on the wing it’s very easy to defend against someone with three players, but in the middle they can’t do that to me.”

Meanwhile, he believed it would be impossible to continue playing at the highest level when he reaches 40 years of age, despite Messi’s example:

“Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. To keep playing, maybe. But at that level, it’s very, very, very difficult. And you have to really want it as well. For me, he’s the best, and he keeps proving it. He has an advantage over everyone else, and he’s 40 years old.”

The Spaniard was not shy in naming some Real Madrid players, current and former, among those he likes to watch play:

“I miss seeing people enjoy football. I used to watch a lot of football, and now I find it difficult because, for me to enjoy a match, I need players like Neymar, Isco, Benzema, Vinícius, Cherki… players you enjoy watching. They don’t have to be a Brazilian like Ronaldinho. I never saw Henry play live, but I loved watching him in videos.”

Despite him already being one of the biggest stars at Barcelona, Yamal believed he still has a long way to go:

With this interview, Lamine Yamal has once again opened about his preferences, and it is hard to disagree with him. Despite all its economic and political sides and political sides, football is a sport, which is meant to be enjoyed, either as a spectacle or as a physical activity. The Barcelona winger’s philosophy is undoubtedly also apparent in his game, as he always puts on a show for the viewers, and hopefully, the fans would get to see him play in such fashion for many years to come.