‘FC Barcelona Ace Lamine Yamal Isn’t A Phenomenon’

Ex-Real Madrid head coach Fabio Capello continued his undervaluing of FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine ... More Yamal on Spanish radio by telling COPE that the teenager is “not a phenomenon”. Ex-Real Madrid head coach Fabio Capello continued his undervaluing of FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal on Spanish radio by telling COPE that the teenager is “not a phenomenon”. Lamine has tormented Madrid on a number of occasions this term through his dribbles, goals and assists, while being a protagonist in four Clasico victories that won the Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey, and now look likely to seal a domestic treble completed by the La Liga title. In the days following Barca’s latest 4-3 win over its bitter rival, Capello doubled down on a previous dismissal of the Golden Boy’s brilliance by telling COPE that “Lamine is a player with a lot of quality, who can improve a lot, but I don’t see him with the brilliance of a phenomenon”. Very much a man of his time, Capello doesn’t see anyone reaching the heights of Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, who he famously tried to loan after the then-young Argentine tied his Juventus team up in knots during a Joan Gamper Trophy match in 2024. “Messi or Maradona did things that no one can imagine. They were world stars. Really, Lamine cannot be compared to the two of them and in the future I do not see him [being so] either,” Capello stated. “I’m not talking about numbers, or quality. I’m talking about imagination and brilliance. Cristiano Ronaldo was also a very important player, with impressive numbers and who scored very important goals, but I can’t compare him to Messi or Maradona. It’s true that Lamine is very young and that he has room for improvement, but very few have that special brilliance.” FC Barcelona superstar Lamine is emerging as a Ballon d’Or favourite All this being said, Lamine would still get a hard to please Capello’s vote for the Ballon d’Or where he might encounter teammates such as Raphinha and Pedri as competition. “There are very few chosen ones. Another thing is the great players,” Capello went on, before making it clearer that “in a Ballon d’Or vote, right now I would vote for Lamine in first position”. On Thursday night, Lamine can help FC Barcelona seal its second La Liga crown in three years, and his second too since debuting at 15, by beating bitter rival Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium. Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2025/05/14/real-madrid-legend-fc-barcelona-ace-lamine-yamal-isnt-a-phenomenon/