Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has already cemented his name as one of the best football players on the planet, and his performances have only gotten progressively better this season after a slow start.
Amid all his glory and success, however, it is easy to forget how he is just 18 years of age and in the absolute infancy of his football career.
After all, his maturity on the field and contributions to the team are nothing short of those of an experienced campaigner, and one is forced to remind oneself that he is still very much a teenager learning the ways of life.
Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, the Barcelona starlet opened up on the lesser-known aspect of his life and how he was dealing with stardom at such a young age.
“I do what any 18-year-old boy does: be with his friends, take care of his brother, play games, and go out for a walk. Things like that.”
Elaborating on what his ideal day would be like as a normal teenager still exploring life, Yamal said
“I try to be with my friends and live my life. I try not to focus only on football, not to be focused on the game all the time, nor watch videos of the side I face, nothing like that.”
“I try to enjoy the whole day and the moment I’m on the field to give my best, but when I leave the field, anyway, I disconnect as much as possible from football,” he added, revealing how he did not like thinking of football off the field.
Lamine was then asked how he would plan out a day in his life if he were not famous, to which he said,
“First, I would go to a terrace for breakfast. In the afternoon I would play a football game in a park, for example, at the Rocafonda police station.”
“And then I would go for a few rides by bike or with the scooters, with my friends. Normal things,” he added.
Finally, he revealed how Pokémon played a massive part in his childhood and how he was deeply connected to the game.
“At school, we played Pokémon cards and all that. Some on the Nintendo, but especially the cards. When I was little we could not buy the Play or the Nintendo.”
“Then we played with my friends in the yard with those cards, which were worth one euro,” he added.
When asked to compare some famous Pokémon with players in the Barcelona dressing room, the teenage sensation said,
“Pikachu would put Dani Olmo, for being blonde.”
“Charizard? Tek Szczesny. He reminds me of him because he has an aura,” he added.
