357 goals in 249 games! Barca's 16-year-old demon star has risen 12 levels in nine years in a row and dreams of winning the World Cup
In the 2023-24 season, Barça has another superstar emerged: 16-year-old young player Yamal, who started three times in the first four La Liga games and contributed two assists. According to the Daily Sport newspaper on September 7, Yamal showed superstar potential at all levels of Barça, scoring 357 goals in 249 appearances!
Yamal was born in Barcelona to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea. In the summer of 2014, the 7-year-old Amal joined Barca's PreBenjamin echelon, also known as the Barça U8 team, commonly known as the Enlightenment team. After that, Yamal's goal was out of control:
For the first five years of La Masia, Yamal played 7-a-side football due to age restrictions. At Barça Benjamin (Toddler D, Toddler C, Toddler B, Toddler A), that is, between 9 and 10 years old, Yamal scored 79 goals in 32 games, averaging 2.4 goals per game!
In the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, Yamal did not play many games and scored many goals due to the virus. Even so, Yamal has contributed 28 goals in 32 games. Without the impact of the virus in these two years, Yamal's goal statistics would have been even more terrifying.
After joining the Barça junior team, Yamal was a "jumper", one year younger than his teammates and opponents. In a small and big game, Yamal scored 20 goals in 32 games. At the age of 15, Yamal jumped to the youth A team (Barça U19) and Barça B (senior team).
Entering the Barça youth academy at the age of 7, he has risen to 12 levels in just 9 years, and has already established himself in the Barça first team and become a new generation of hopeful stars, Yamal's growth story is amazing. Who discovered this gem of Yamal? Jordi Rula, 55.
According to Daily Sport, Jordi Lula has been with Barça for 12 years. He worked as a Barca scout from 2009 to 2012, as an assistant to Barca's first team (Biranova's assistant) in 2012-13 and to Martino in 2013-14. From 2014 to 2021, Lula was the manager of Barça's B team. When he first saw the seven-year-old Yamal, Lula was amazed: "He will be a different player, very special, very talented. ”
Yamal, 16, chose to play for his country of birth, Spain. Yamal has hopes and dreams for the future: "I want to win the European Championship and the World Cup with the Spanish national team. "What height Yamal will reach in the future is a suspense that Barça fans are looking forward to.