Thierry Henry issues warning regarding €180m Barcelona star’s astronomical rise to stardom | OneFootball

There are no shortcuts to success at a club like FC Barcelona, but some players reach the top much quicker than others. Even right now, there are some young players at the club who have steamrolled their way to the first team. Retaining their place, however, is another challenge altogether at Barcelona.

For 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, that has not been much of an issue. Undoubtedly among the most sought-after and highest valued players in world right now, the Spanish winger has established himself as a juggernaut of the sport already and is hailed by many experts as a future great in the making.

However, there is no doubt that with a player this talented there must come some extra caution. While he is exceptionally talented, there have been players in the past who have seen their careers waste away due to certain external factors or even injuries at times.

As per the words of former Barcelona and French icon Thierry Henry, however, Yamal’s success is something that does not come without its unique risks and problems. To better explain this, as highlighted by SPORT, the former FIFA World Cup winner also brought up the unfortunate progression of Bojan Krkic’s career at Barcelona as well:

“You can see what can happen when you’re young and don’t know how to handle everything. Everything is happening very quickly, and in Bojan’s case, he got lost in terms of anxiety and the fear of being seen too much.”

He further elaborated how there is much more to things than most people see, and how young talents like Yamal could end up feeling overwhelmed as well:

“That’s something people don’t always understand or want to understand. They see you playing and forget that you’re just a kid who went from being unknown to everyone thinking you’re good. Which, by the way, you are good.”

The former French international also brought up his own example when it comes to dealing with this, but highlighted Bojan’s struggles in particular:

“I’ve been through this before, and by the way, I want to congratulate Bojan for how he speaks in the documentary. It was particularly hard for him to deal with all the external pressure… (Bojan) refused to go to the European Championship, and he paid the price for becoming a star too quickly.”

While this warning of sorts is by no means a guarantee of what will happen to Yamal, it is still something to reflect on. Fortunately, the €180 million-rated Barcelona star has shown no signs of slowing down just yet, and has also managed to achieve greatness with his country by helping Spain win the 2024 European Championship as well.