Lamine Yamal not at his best, opponent sends message to Barça | OneFootball

Lamine Yamal

Over at Elche, there are concerns for Lamine Yamal, Barcelona's wonderkid.

Elche forward Rafa Mir appeared upbeat and determined ahead of this Sunday's trip to Camp Nou. In an interview with Marca, he took the chance to send a clear message about Barça's young sensation: "Lamine Yamal is a great player, and everything happening around him is because he's a great player. He'll have to live with that for a long time. We need to help him because he is a treasure of our football, a key part of our national team, and on top of that, he's still very young."

According to Rafa Mir, Yamal's talent deserves much more support: "He's already accomplished great things for his age. All of us need to help him keep growing and show the footballer he truly is." For the Elche striker, personal experience shapes his empathy: having himself gone through a demanding youth spell at La Masía, he understands the pressure a young player faces far from home. "It was a tough time, but it made me better—both as a footballer and as a person."