Former French international and Barcelona player Emmanuel Petit offered some words of advice for teenage superstar Lamine Yamal.
Petit, who played one season for Barça and made his name playing for France and Arsenal, was full of praise for Yamal’s qualities as a player, even comparing him to Lionel Messi, and believes Lamine can win the Ballon d’Or
if he and Barça can claim the Champions League title.“He reminds me of Messi on the right wing. Every time he touches the ball, you can see he creates
danger. He usually draws two or even three opponents into his area, which opens up space for his teammates. That’s why Barça is so dangerous. With Raphinha and a great midfield, the threat can come from anywhere.
“I’ve seen many teams try to defend by putting two or three players against Yamal, and it doesn’t work. At his age, he’s a phenomenon. If he maintains this level, he’ll win the Ballon d’Or. And he knows he has to repeat it, both at Barça and with the Spanish national team. The World Cup is coming up at the end of the season, another big goal for him, but to really establish himself, he needs to win the Champions League.”
Petit then went on to detail what he thinks Yamal should improve upon, specifically his mentality and his tendency to come off as ‘arrogant’ with his use of social media.
“His qualities — technique, vision, power, intelligence in his movements — are unique. The only thing he needs to improve is his mentality. Right now, everything is going well for him. But if something negative happens, there will be many waiting to bring him down. We’ll see how he reacts.
“Yamal needs to be careful with his communication and social media management. Sometimes a touch of arrogance comes across. In the past, great footballers tended to be quite shy. Some were arrogant, yes, but they backed it up with their play. The problem arises when the results aren’t there. He’s still very young, and his brilliance is due in part to pure talent; maturity will come. The player who’s on the pitch should grow off it as well.”
Source: AS via Mundo Deportivo
Do you agree with Petit that Yamal needs to improve his mentality and does he come across as arrogant, Barça fans? And do you believe that’s a problem?
