Lamine Yamal has a touch of magic about him. He's been breaking records at FC Barcelona at the speed of light, and now he's doing the same with the Spanish national team. He was called up by Luis de la Fuente for the senior team, and this Saturday, he made his debut against Georgia, sealing a 7-1 victory.
In just three years, he's gone from playing in Barcelona's youth team to featuring in the first team. Since Xavi Hernández took charge of the Barcelona first team, he has reiterated a clear idea: he doesn't focus on a player's age, only on their performance. That's why he gave Yamal his debut last season, making him the youngest player in FC Barcelona's history to play an official match when he faced Real Betis.
During the summer, he was part of the first-team squad for the preseason tour in the United States, and he put on an impressive display in the Trofeu Joan Gamper match against Tottenham, coming on in the 80th minute and playing a crucial role in scoring three late goals to secure a comeback victory.
With his stellar performances, Xavi has given him playing time in the first four rounds of the domestic league, surpassing players like Ansu Fati (now on loan at Brighton), Ferran Torres, and even Raphinha. His ability to disrupt defenses, understand the game, and link up with his teammates has made him one of the revelations of the season. He even earned the award for the best U-23 player in August.
These performances did not go unnoticed by the Spanish national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, who didn't hesitate to call him up for the international matches, which are qualifiers for Euro 2024. Yamal, just like Gavi under Luis Enrique, has proved him right.
Records... and more records:
In less than five months, he has already broken a long list of records, and many more are within his reach. So far, he hasn't scored a goal for Barcelona, although he has come close on several occasions, even hitting the woodwork against Villarreal.
If he finds the net in the next month, he will become the youngest goal scorer in La Liga history, surpassing Fabrice Olinga, who scored for Malaga in 2012. He has five matches ahead to achieve this feat: Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Mallorca, Sevilla, and Granada. Furthermore, he would become the youngest goal scorer in Barcelona's history.
Regarding the Champions League, he has the whole season to break Ansu Fati's record when he scored against Inter Milan in the group stage of the 2019/20 season. For now, he has six games against Antwerp, Porto, and Shakhtar Donetsk to accomplish that.