Inter star laughs at Lamine Yamal on social media after Champions League win

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal put in two brilliant performances against Inter over the course of the semi-final, but being the main protagonist, will not be saved any shots despite his young age. Inter forward Marcus Thuram was the first in line to take his after the game.

Curiously, the French forward was one of the first to commiserate with Lamine Yamal on the pitch, and was seen hugging the teenage forward after the game. Yet by the time he was in the dressing room, Thuram seemed to have lost any sympathy for the 17-year-old.

After the game had finished, Thuram posted on his Instagram story a picture of him comforting Lamine Yamal, but with the caption ‘on a mission’, accompanied by two laughing faces. The same words had been used by the Barcelona man on his own social media in the lead up to the tie. Thuram’s post was then deleted not long after being posted.

While Thuram still praised Lamine Yamal in his interview following the first match, he was swift to reject the idea that he was the best player in the world, declaring that Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were ahead of him. It was certainly picked up on.

Last summer Lamine Yamal did not hesitate to return the favour to Adrien Rabiot at Euro 2024 in his own fashion. Rabiot played down the idea that Lamine Yamal was Spain’s primary threat before the semi-final, and after Lamine Yamal scored, rounding Rabiot in the process, he took to social media to say ‘Checkmate’, posting photos of the action. That France side also included Thuram, and perhaps there is some residual edge there that carried into this tie.