Lamine Yamal revealed the words of advice he received from Lionel Messi following Spain‘s win over Argentina in last Sunday’s World Cup final.
Spain lifted the trophy for the second time in their history after an uninspiring final was settled by Ferran Torres’ extra-time strike.
Ugly scenes followed at the end, with several Spain players accosted by Argentina counterparts. Leandro Paredes was at the centre of the controversy, as he grabbed Eric Garcia by the throat before pushing Gavi to the turf. Paredes could yet face disciplinary action for his conduct, however, with FIFA set to open an investigation into his behaviour.
But there was sportsmanship on show between Argentina legend Messi and Yamal, seen as the man to assume his mantle at Barcelona after a phenomenal start to his club career.
The pair embraced on the pitch after the full-time whistle and, speaking to Marca, Yamal disclosed the motivational message Messi gave to the 19-year-old.
“He’s the greatest player in history and someone I’ve always looked up to,” Yamal said. “After the match, I wanted to show him my respect.
“He told me to keep following my path and that the future belongs to our generation.
“Those words are worth as much as the gold medal hanging around my neck.”
Yamal scored only one goal at the World Cup, which came in the group stage win over Saudi Arabia, and did not register an assist.
However, Yamal still had a great influence on Spain’s success with his undoubted physical ability and flair, completing more dribbles (35) than any other player at the tournament.
Having become the joint-fourth youngest player to win the World Cup at 19 years and six days, Yamal will be expected to be at the forefront of La Roja’s efforts to defend the European Championship in 2028 and the World Cup two years later, when the tournament will be co-hosted by Spain.
