Robert Lewandowski confesses that Barcelona prodigy surprised him even more than Jamal Musiala | OneFootball

One of the things that Hansi Flick’s Barcelona does best is strike the right balance between experience and youth. While it is considered to be a young team by most standards, the Catalan giants also have their fair share of veterans to rely on. Yet, it is the unity and companionship between all kinds of players at the club that makes this Barcelona side special.

In terms of the veterans, perhaps the most prominent player is 36-year-old Polish ace Robert Lewandowski. Renowned for his goalscoring ability and the way he has been dominating the scoring charts for around a decade, the former Bayern Munich striker is now committed to helping Barcelona succeed this season.

However, in a recent youtube interview with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, the Pole was also asked to comment on 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, who is already considered to be one of the faces of the new generation of footballers moving forward.

Initially, Lewandowski confessed that the player’s talent left him astonished, and that was back when the young winger was only 15 years old as well:

“The first I saw him training with us was when he was 15. I have seen many young talented players, but with Lamine Yamal for the first time I told myself “Wow”.”

In fact, for the former Bundesliga striker, Yamal’s talent seemed to be even more surprising than that of Jamal Musiala, one of German football’s biggest talents and a player that Ferdinand mentioned while giving out examples of other talented youngsters that Lewandowski has seen play in person:

“You know (Jamal) Musiala also had something. But Lamine Yamal, the first training session I was like: how is such a level possible at this age? And even when turned 16, that was like: come on it’s impossible to be so good and so clever.”

However, Lewandowski admitted that he also tries his best to keep the player grounded as much as possible. While he commends the accomplishments and achievements already under his belt, he still believes that the youngster would do well with some advice catered towards his future:

“I always try to give him advices. On one side what he’s done and what he’s been doing is amazing but very soon he will face the challenge to stay on this level or maybe the next step. It’s not about only 2-3 years but maybe 10 years, he has to think about being on this level at 28, 29 or even longer. I think this is the biggest challenge in his career.”

Fortunately for Barcelona, both the 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski and the 17-year-old Lamine Yamal are dominating clubs through their lethal partnership this season. Along with the likes of Raphinha and Dani Olmo also helping out in attack, Hansi Flick’s team has a special ability to dismantle just about any opponent.