Barcelona unhappy with Spain manager’s comments comparing whizkid to Messi and Maradona

After naming Lamine Yamal in the Spain squad for the upcoming fixtures against Scotland and Norway, La Roja manager Luis de la Fuente tackled some questions regarding the youngster.

When asked about the workload that the teenager is being exposed at both club and international levels at the age of just 16, De la Fuente remarked that the likes of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona also played a lot at such an age and nobody would question that.

“Remember when Messi or Maradona played when they were 16? Now it seems sacrilegious to debate whether they should play when they are 16 years old. You don’t have to set limits for players like that,” he said.

Barcelona annoyed by De la Fuente’s comments

Now, SPORT’s Toni Juanmarti is reporting that Barcelona are not pleased and annoyed by the comments made by Luis de la Fuente regarding Lamine Yamal.

The Blaugrana are doing their best to nurture and develop the young prodigy and have been careful regarding drawing comparisons with icons of the game such as Messi or Maradona so as to avoid placing undue pressure or expectations on the 16-year-old.

As such, De la Fuente’s comments, even though they were not in bad faith, have not entirely gone down too well with those at Can Barça.

At a time when the Catalans are doing everything to protect the player from the added spotlight and any pressure that might come with it, they believe De la Fuente’s comments are not doing any favours to Yamal.

Trying to shield Yamal from comparisons

There have been instances in the past when youngsters at the club have succumbed under the weight of expectations generated by undue comparisons.

The biggest example of this is former striker Bojan Krkic, who was branded the new Messi, when he burst onto the scenes, but had a disappointing career.

As such, Barcelona are trying to shield Yamal from such a situation, with Xavi himself leading the way in the press conference before the FC Porto clash when he said:

“We’re not doing Lamine any favours if we compare him to Messi. It’s true that the expectations are enormous, he’s showing that, but we’ll see what happens in the future.

“But comparing him to Messi… we’ve already seen that all the players who have been compared to Messi haven’t fared well.”

So, it is only natural for Barcelona to be left annoyed by the comments made by De la Fuente.