Barcelona ‘unhappy with Spain boss Luis de La Fuente’ after he compared 16-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

• 16-year-old Lamine Yamal is fast becoming a favourite among Barcelona fans
• Barca were ‘upset’ by Luis de La Fuente comparing him to Lionel Messi
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Barcelona are ‘upset’ with Spain manager Luis de La Fuente after he compared Lamine Yamal to club legends Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona,

At just 16, Yamal is fast becoming a favourite for Xavi’s side and has appeared in each of their league games so far.

He is yet to get on the scoresheet for the Blaugrana, but did force Barca’s old nemesis Sergio Ramos into an own goal as they beat Sevilla last weekend. 

It was a full-circle moment for Yamal, who was Ramos’ mascot for an El Clasico fixture in 2016. 

The winger is believed to have penned a new three-year deal with the club which includes a release clause of £1 billion. 

16-year-old Lamine Yamal has featured in every league game for Barcelona this season

Spain boss Luis de La Fuente compared the forward to Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

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Yamal has also made a promising start to his international career as he became the youngest ever debutant and goal scorer for Spain in a 7-1 victory over Georgia in September.

De La Fuente was clearly taken by his performance, as he said when announcing the squad for Spain’s upcoming European qualifiers against Scotland and Norway.

‘There are footballers who knock down the door before others,’ he said. ‘He [Yamal] has exceptional conditions and his performance will determine what we can give him.

‘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.’

Reports in Sport suggest the comments did no go down well with Barcelona, who have been trying to keep as much pressure off Yamal as possible.

Manager Xavi, who played alongside Messi for 11 years at the Nou Camp, said as much in an interview just a week earlier.

Speaking ahead of their 1-0 Champions League win over Porto on Wednesday, he said: ‘We are not doing Lamine any favors if we compare him with Messi. 

The comments are believed to have angered Xavi’s Barca, who are trying to keep the pressure off Yamal

Xavi warned that players who have been compared to Messi in the past ‘haven’t done well at all’

‘It is true that the expectations are enormous, he is proving it, but we are going to see the future. But we have already seen that all the players who have been compared to Messi, they haven’t done well at all.’

Regardless of the chat surrounding Yamal, Barcelona have made a steady start to the season and are within a point of league leaders Real Madrid after eight games.

They are yet to produce their best football, though, with just two of their six league wins coming by a margin of more than one goal.

With Spain’s two biggest clubs separated by so little, Real’s trip to the Olympic Stadium for the Clasico at the end of October could be one of the biggest in recent memory. 

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