FC Barcelona And Brazil Legend Discusses Lamine Taking Number 10

FC Barcelona legend and former Ballon d’Or winner Rivaldo spoke about Lamine Yamal inheriting the iconic number 10 shirt as is expected in the coming days.

The heavy jersey has previously been worn by the likes of Lionel Messi, the Brazilian’s World Cup-winning teammate Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona and even Rivaldo himself at Camp Nou.

In 2021, however, when Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain, it was assigned to Ansu Fati who at the time became the Lamine of his era by smashing a number of youngest goalscorer and appearance maker records for club and country.

Fati’s trajectory has since been defined by injury setbacks, an unsuccessful loan at Brighton, and struggling to make his way into the first team plans of Xavi Hernandez ahead of the Catalans’ successor Hansi Flick.

With Fati once again trying this luck temporarily at AS Monaco, though, the 10 will finally be moved on with Lamine expected to inherit it via an announcement on his 18th birthday come July 13.

Speaking to Betfair, Rivaldo gave his opinion on the matter and said that Lamine “deserves it”.

“This number demands a lot of responsibility, but he has a lot of personality,” added Rivaldo, while also saying that the right winger “has achieved at Barcelona and in the Spanish national team”.

Despite being a teenager and the pressure that comes with wearing such a shirt, Rivaldo doesn’t think it “will be a problem for him, because he plays with incredible calmness and he doesn’t seem to be the age he is when you see him on the pitch.

“Yamal has the personality that is expected of a 25 or 26-year-old player,” Rivaldo further stated, which is the kind of compliment that is often thrown at the Euro 2024 champion.

Speaking of that tournament, Lamine’s close friend and teammate Nico Williams, who he set up for the opening goal in Spain’s 2-1 final win over England, is being heavily linked to Barca.

“If the signing is confirmed, it will be very good. I think Barca’s squad this season already had a lot of quality, but when a player of this level arrives, the chances of winning everything increase even more, especially the Champions League, which is Barcelona’s big goal,” Rivaldo concluded.

Nico arriving at FC Barcelona could complicate Raphinha’s life

If he is indeed signed from Athletic Club, Nico Williams could complicate life for Rivaldo’s compatriot Raphinha at FC Barcelona given they both share the left wing. Simultaneously, however, ‘Rapha’ could be moved into a CAM role as Dani Olmo is the fasle number 9 gradually phasing out an aging Robert Lewandowski.