Vicky López continues to break Barcelona records at the Camp Nou
Vicky López is the youngest player to play for Barcelona in the Champions League, beating Ansu Fati’s record.
She is a prodigy. Vicky López continues to make history every time she steps onto the pitch for FC Barcelona. The Madrid footballer is, as of yesterday, the youngest player, without taking gender into account, to debut with the blaugrana shirt in the Champions League. She is also, at 16 years and 148 days old, the youngest player to play a game at the Camp Nou. “She is a very special talent”, said the manager, Jonatan Giráldez.
Vicky has been destined to break all records, ever since her debut in the first division at just 15 years old. She went from Madrid CFF (not Real Madrid) to FC Barcelona in the summer and there they are taking care of her minutes, as her talent is not as much of an immediate necessity, given the seemingly endless pool of extraordinary players at the Catalan club. “My responsibility is to protect her as much as I can and give her opportunities in contexts that suit her,” said the manager in the press conference yesterday.
“My responsibility is to protect [Vicky] as much as I can and give her opportunities in contexts that suit her.”
Vicky López continues to break records
For now, the player, who won the u-17 World Cup last September in India under manager Kenio Gonzalo, has featured 3 times for the FC Barcelona first team and has broken records in all of them. In her league debut against Granadilla (2-0), as a starter, she became the youngest player to play in the first team since it became professional, beating the record previously held by Claudia Pina. Then, in the 0-4 against Real Madrid, she became the youngest player to feature in a Clásico, in both male and female football. And finally on 21 December 2022, against Rosengard, when she came the youngest player to feature in a Champions League game. Three records held by Vicky that should surprise nobody.
With the game all but over and progression to the next round sealed, Giráldez sent Vicky on in the 80th minute. As multi-faceted and talented as but a few players in Europe, the Madrid-born star-to-be came on for striker Oshoala, and moved around the Camp Nou pitch with the grace and talent of somebody that had done it for years, floating across the grass, involving herself with various plays of the game in different areas, the 28,000 people in the crowd did not faze her, and she picked up the record as the youngest player to play in the Champions League for Barcelona, beating Ansu Fati’s record.