Barcelona phenom given crucial advice by tennis legend – ‘Build a safety net’

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is quite simply one of the greatest teenage talents in the history of football.

At just 17 years of age, he broke into the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or ranking in 2024, and one year later, he finished second and could well have been crowned the best player on the planet.

Not many players, even across the world of sport, have tasted success as early as Yamal has and enjoyed such a rapid ascent at the highest level of the game. He is, undoubtedly, a freak of nature.

Tennis legend’s words of advice
Speaking in a recent interview (h/t AS), former tennis player Boris Becker, who also tasted elite-level success as a teenager, touched on Lamine Yamal and his ascent. As a player who won the Wimbledon Open at just 17 years of age, he said,

“Lamine is wonderful, he is winning everything. He is the best young player in the world right now. It reminds me of me when I was 17 years old. With him, the alarms sound.”

He then provided advice to the Barcelona youngster to take his career slowly and not rush matters with his progression.