Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal says he has “always wanted to play for Spain”

Barcelona’s young forward, Lamine Yamal, is the shiny new face in the latest Spain squad put together by manager Luis de la Fuente for the upcoming games against Cyprus and Georgia.

The player, who is just 16-years-old and played in Barça’s recent win over Osasuna, said he has “always” wanted to play for Spain and that he was “clear” that his wish was not only to feature for La Roja, but “win everything possible”.

“I’ve always wanted to play for Spain”, said the winger, “since the u-15 team, and I’ve always been clear on that, that I wanted to play for Spain, win a Euros, win a World Cup and everything possible”. Lamine Yamal is also eligible to play for Morocco, where his father was born.

Laime Yamal recognises ‘incredible’ experience

In the attacker’s eyes, “it is incredible to be experiencing this, I’m just waiting for things to come to be able to enjoy them fully. I’m calm at the moment, and already a little used to it there at Barça; now let’s see how it goes”, he said.

The first person to give him advice was his mother, who was the person Lamine Yamal rung after finding out he was to be a part of the squad. “She was really proud, my dad [gave me advice] as well. My mum first told me to be careful, because she gets a bit scared, but then after 30 seconds it goes and she’s proud of me. It used to happen when I was in the youth teams because the players were bigger than me and she told me to be careful with fouls. It’s normal because she’s my mother, but she can be calm, trust me and that’s it.”

Barcelona’s players have given advice to Lamine Yamal

The player recognised that one of his closest friends in the Barcelona squad is Alejandro Balde, who told him to “enjoy it, face up to the opponent, and not to be scared.” He said that “Gavi told me to go in strong, to play without fear, and Pedri said the same. They help me a lot.”

Finally, the 16-year-old confessed that even though “everyone, all the players” were “incredible and really good”, he liked Marco Asensio “a lot, especially when he just started to play [first team football].” The player then admitted that he is “embarrassed” to tell him that now that not only does he share a dressing room with Asensio, but the former Madrid winger is one of the senior captains of the side.