Yamal surprises by revealing his Barcelona idol isn’t Lionel Messi

Young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal shares his unexpected inspiration ahead of El Clásico

By Izabelle Franca

Yamal is one of Barça's great promises Yamal is one of Barça’s great promises / Pedro Salado/GettyImages

 

This Saturday, one of the most promising talents of Barcelona, young Lamine Yamal, will play his first El Clásico against Real Madrid.

At only 17, the nonstop participation of Yamal on the field drew attention from the public, but recent revelations about who serves as his biggest inspiration really surprised the already amazed fans of the young star.

In an interview with One Football, the striker let on that his idol is not Messi, but Neymar-a choice, to many, against the Catalan tradition in return gives a reason into Yamal’s personality and style of play.

Neymar as Idol: A Choice Which Says It All About Style and Bravery

To most of the young players coming through Barcelona’s academy, Lionel Messi is the natural role model. Yet Yamal managed to surprise them all when he replied, “I used to look up to Neymar as my idol when I was young. He was a guy that I admired. I watched all of his videos and goals.”

That tells everything about the style of Yamal. Neymar seems to be fearless, talented, and flamboyant in his soccer persona. And it’s that persona, such gutsy game sense, which Yamal wants to bring into his gameplay.

He says, “I do respect Messi, and I think of him as ‘always the best, but in Neymar’s style lies that something which fascinates me.”

Thus, it is his confidence on the field and a knack for improvisation that Neymar accomplishes that this young forward attempts to develop.

Raised in an environment appreciative of precision and team play, Yamal is supposedly bound and determined to give his performance a dose of creativity and boldness.

Neymar’s Influence on Yamal’s Style: What to Expect in El Clásico?

One thing that Neymar brought into soccer is being able to amaze on each movement-a quality that Lamina Yamal also shares onto the pitch.

Like Neymar, he learned how to be unpredictable, control the rhythm of the game, and go into daring dribbles that could change every match in any moment.

El Clásico will be a stage where he can show these skills, something that has gotten the fans’ pulses racing with anticipation of how he’ll handle the pressure of one of the biggest clashes in soccer.

This Saturday, we are going to see Neymar-inspired Yamal, who will try quick dribbles in order to make telling plays.

Whether all this will help him to be on a par with the best, yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure-he will not be afraid to take risks and push his talent to the full.

Fan Expectations and Yamal’s Role at Barcelona

The fans of Barcelona expect a lot from Yamal, and because he draws inspiration from the great Neymar, it is all so weird.

Neymar is not just about talent; he is about that confidence and charisma through which soccer becomes spectacle.

That is precisely what fans would like to see in Yamal during El Clásico: an art form that does not restrict itself to efficiency but one that can engross and mesmerize.

That could be an added asset for Barcelona in this intense, high-pressure return to this classic.

That way, Yamal might find a place on the historic roster so that when he makes his El Clásico debut, he will do it with class and style, mixing Neymar’s technique and stability of a team that has worked long as a unit.