Can Lamine Yamal End Barcelona’s European Drought?

Lamine Yamal has gone from a promising young talent to a regular feature in the headlines within the space of about 18 months. He was integral in Spain’s Euro 2024 win despite turning just 17 halfway through the tournament. His performances at such a young age evoked shades of young Englishman Wayne Rooney, who set the tournament alight at 18 back in 2004, and it showcased that Spain and Barcelona have a new footballing megastar on their hands.

Although football is the most watched sport on the planet, it’s still incredibly rare for a player of Lamine’s age to generate the sort of attention and media that he has so far in 2024. Following the departure of Lionel Messi, Barcelona, as a club, feel like they’ve been wandering around in somewhat of a footballing desert, eager to kickstart a new generation with younger, fresher elite talent.

Lamine Yamal’s ability and the goals he scored at Euro 2024 captured the attention of the global media, from the back pages of the English football press to Australian sports news. It inspired a new hope for the Catalans, and not just because the team was going through a rough patch. Last year they struggled to hold their own domestically against arch-rivals Real Madrid, but his play gave them faint hope during their defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu in April.

Lamine Yamal’s performance at Euro 2024 is the level Barcelona fans expect, and he is drawing in eyeballs like few have since the departure of Messi.

Now that the genie is out of the proverbial bottle, so to speak, and the whole footballing community knows just how gifted the teenage sensation is, it’s now Barcelona’s job to ensure that he’s able to keep a level-head on his shoulders and try and keep him grounded. Kylian Mbappe, the latest superstar to join La Liga, is one player who has faced similar levels of attention ever since he burst onto the scene at a young age.

Although Mbappe is now a fully-fledged international in his prime and has been a footballing superstar for several years, there are growing whispers about the fact that he hasn’t hit the ground running at the Bernabeu in the same manner that people expect.

Barcelona will be keen to keep Lamine Yamal’s focus on his football, just as they did with Lionel Messi and countless others when they first made the world aware of their precocious talents. Given his age, it can be challenging to keep players grounded, especially with the big wages and the temptations that money can bring with it.

With 4 goals and 5 assists in his last 8 games for club and country, Yamal is exhibiting some of the form that only the world-class players do. Many players believe he is already one of the best players in European football.

After spearheading Spain’s resurgence, culminating in their incredible Euro 2024 triumph, it’s fair to say that Lamine will be keen to continue this form for his club and will have his eyes on ending Barcelona’s Champions League drought – a trophy they haven’t won since 2015.

In terms of footballing talent, based on the last six months, you’d have to put Yamal right alongside some of Europe’s best, regardless of his age. The numbers speak volumes. He’s up there with the best and the most expensive players in the world at the moment; his potential is staggering.

Barcelona has got off to a strong start in the 24/25 season, and Lamine already has three goals in 5 games, including a brace against Girona. Ideally, the Catalans will want to steal the limelight away from Real Madrid this season and given how impressive Carlo Ancelotti’s men were in both La Liga and the Champions League last season, if Barcelona are able to pip them to either title this year, then you’d think that Lamine Yamal will have a lot to do with it.

Perhaps it won’t be this season, it might be a little bit too soon for Barcelona to surge past the resplendent Madrid, but the gap between the two clubs certainly feels like it’s closing, and it also feels that Yamal is a significant part of this.

We can see Barcelona climbing back to the top of Europe within the next five years. These dips in form can often be cyclical, and with Manchester City’s Pep era likely coming to an end, it feels like it’s time to shine for Spain’s top two clubs again. If Lamine Yamal can stay focused and Barcelona can keep his feet on the ground, he could be the primary reason the club returns to its perch at the zenith of European football.