La Liga heavyweights Barcelona chief Joan Laporta brought attention to the excessive attention on wunderkind Lamine Yamal and added that the club were getting rather used to the treatment of the teenager in the public eye.
with media outlets jumping on every opportunity to criticise the teenager.
“People talking about Lamine Yamal not playing with Spain this break? We’re used to it,” Laporta said.
“Something happens to Lamine, he has to return home due to an injury, and all the media start criticizing him excessively, but if it happens to another player, it’s ignored,” the Blaugrana boss added.
The 18-year-old was included in Spain’s World Cup qualifiers squad against Georgia and Turkey but was released after medical reports showed he had undergone
a groin procedure on the same day the national team’s training camp began.
Yamal participated in Barcelona’s 4-2 La Liga victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday, scoring a goal before being substituted in stoppage time. Shortly after, he reportedly underwent an invasive radiofrequency procedure to address persistent discomfort in his pubic area, a common and long-standing injury. This marked the second consecutive international camp he had to withdraw from due to this issue.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente previously stated that Yamal was ‘in perfect condition’ and would remain with the team ‘as long as we deem appropriate.’ After the news of Yamal’s leave on Tuesday, he expressed his shock.
Earlier, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick had criticised Spain for fielding the teenager during September’s qualifiers against Bulgaria and Turkey, which caused him to miss four club matches due to the same groin issue.
