The Lamine Yamal case continues to divide. If no one disputes the generational talent of the Barça player, his attitude and his management of fame provoke heated debates, particularly in France. We remember Adil Rami’s flamethrower outing a few months ago (“Humanly speaking, I can no longer see it…”), before the 2018 world champion qualified his remarks. Obviously, he is not the only former French player to worry. Another ex-international has just spoken, and the findings are just as alarming.
“Lamine Yamal will be like Neymar”
It’s Louis Saha who steps up to the plate. In an interview with British media OLBGthe former Manchester United striker does not mince his words. “I’m afraid for Lamine Yamal,” he says straight away. Saha seriously doubts that the Spaniard could one day “surpass Lionel Messi”. The reason? He does not see in it the absolute “obsession” of a Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo. Worse, he notes that “distractions are already around Yamal, (and) it’s not good.”
The former French international spins the metaphor and it is brutal. He fears that Yamal will be “dragged out of the game like Neymar”. Saha even goes so far as to assert that the Brazilian had “maybe better quality” than Yamal in its beginnings. The problem, according to him, is that Neymar “didn’t have the best lifestyle” and it was “left drawn into things that don’t help one’s career”. The warning is clear : “This is where I am very afraid that Yamal will try to choose the same kind of trajectory. It would be sad for football. »
Louis Saha fears for Lamine Yamal: “I’m afraid he will be dragged out of the game like Neymar. » The Barça prodigy, already criticized for his attitude, divides former players.
A climate of distrust
This resounding declaration from Louis Saha echoes the climate of mistrust which is taking hold in France around the prodigy. Adil Rami’s criticisms, but also those of Tony Vairelles or Guti, were all aimed at the same thing: a perceived arrogance, provocative statements (“As long as I win, they can’t tell me anything”) and an immaturity in the representation, like his cap worn backwards in a press conference with the selection. Controversies which add to off-field scandals, such as his controversial birthday party or rumors about his family circle.
Saha’s fears therefore do not come out of nowhere. They confirm a strong trend: the concern to see an extraordinary talent wasted by his environment and his own management of celebrity. Ironically, even Deco, Barça’s sporting director, made the comparison with Neymar. But where Deco saw a similar maturity, Saha sees the greatest danger for Lamine Yamal’s career.
