The 16-year-old talent wants to wear shirt number 10 at Barca

Lamine Yamal wants to wear the number 10 shirt like his idol Lionel Messi, who has won four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga championships.

Last season, Barca let Ansu Fati wear shirt number 10. But after Fati moved to Brighton on a loan contract until the end of the 2023-2024 season, the Camp Nou team still left this shirt number empty.

“Ansu is number 10, but if he doesn’t return, I will be proud to wear it,” Yamal said in Mundo Deportivo on April 5. “Becoming Barca’s number 10 is the dream of any child. No one in the world can say no to it. But first, the club must decide.”

Yamal (middle) celebrates a goal in Barca’s 1-0 win over Mallorca in round 28 of La Liga on March 8 at Montjuic Stadium. Photo: Reuters

Barca’s most famous “number 10” is Lionel Messi, the player Yamal considered his idol since childhood. Messi has contributed to four Champions Leagues, 10 La Liga titles, won the 2022 World Cup, set a record of eight Golden Balls and six European Golden Shoes. When completing the renovation of the Camp Nou stadium, Barca will display the Argentine striker’s eight Golden Balls.

Before Messi, many other legends also wore number 10 at Barca, including three Brazilian World Cup champions Romario, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.

After Messi left in 2021, Barca let Fati inherit the number 10 shirt. However, the 21-year-old striker did not meet expectations, was often injured and lost his starting position.

Yamal is wearing shirt number 27. This 16-year-old player debuted for Barca at the end of the 2022-2023 season, and is on Messi’s path to success. This season, Yamal became the soul of team play, scoring six goals in 41 matches for Barca and two goals in six matches for Spain. Messi himself once affirmed that Yamal has the potential to win the Golden Ball, while coach Xavi praised “it can open an era of success”.

Yamal is trying to exercise and eat scientifically like Messi once succeeded. “Before, I used to go with friends and eat whatever I wanted. But now, I follow the club’s advice. I drink a lot of water, eat more fish instead of meat,” striker 16 age said.

Yamal is under contract with Barca until 2026. According to Transferrmarkt, this striker is worth $82 million and is the most expensive 16-year-old player in the world. However, Barca set a price to break the contract of up to 1.1 billion USD to prevent other clubs from buying it outright.