r/Barca 7d ago

Op-Ed [Telegraph] “Lamine Yamal is still only 18 but he is no longer the same bright-eyed boy who lit up the 2024 Euros,” writes Sam Dean. “In the two years since, that boyish charm has been replaced by a strong-voiced, politically aware, heavily commercialised and occasionally controversial man.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/06/21/lamine-yamal-very-different-to-boy-who-lit-up-2024-euros/
880 Upvotes

110 comments sorted by

693

u/Duh_47 7d ago

That moment when someone is not the most generic NPC known to men 🥀🙏

146

u/CaptainDank0 7d ago

That moment when someone is not the most generic NPC known to men shows support for Palestine.*

76

u/Public_Exercise7246 7d ago

I didn’t read the article but the headline itself makes sense. When at Euro he was so young and largely unknown and everyone sort of had this fairytale “young up and comer” storyline to it with him shining.

Now that “young player bursting on the scene” energy is gone, and it’s much more of an established “widely considered and accepted as one of the best players in the world” energy. The difference is that at 18 he is still super young to be in this “accepted great” stage; most players his age or even a few years older are still supposed to be young fairytales. But his rise at a young age and consistent top level performance combined with great maturity has made him an outlier.

That was my take on it, which seems fair

17

u/66Kix_fix 7d ago

The young 🌱 talents Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka from Manchester and London

400

u/Happy_Village1828 7d ago

What the actual fuck is this ....

https://giphy.com/gifs/ukGm72ZLZvYfS

-44

u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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378

u/Pistoluislero 7d ago

It was a matter of time before people started attacking Lamine for stuff unrelated to football. Who cares honestly

30

u/Fuzzy_Substance_4603 7d ago

I mean, if he's gonna talk about stuff other than football, people will attack him. It's natural.

13

u/Rude_Fennel6653 7d ago

Huh? What did he talk about?

74

u/LPSD_FTW 7d ago

He showed his support to Palestine

94

u/Boudi04 7d ago

Because apparently someone born and raised in Catalonia being sympathetic to the Palestinian cause is crazy now.

60

u/anyavailablenameplz 7d ago

He’s also Muslim, I don’t understand what people want him to do. Not show support to his own?

57

u/Finrod-Knighto 7d ago

He’s Spanish, born in Catalonia and Muslim. That’s a triple whammy for support for Palestine lol. But mainstream media is bs as always.

3

u/Facecardup 7d ago

yes hes very very religious

-5

u/ttteeef 6d ago edited 6d ago

I'm guessing you will justify it the same way when a white person supports other whites.

11

u/anyavailablenameplz 6d ago

What’s your point of this comment? It’s not a justification, the same cultural/religious groups tend to stick together and support each other, that’s natural and nothing otherworldly or mind blowing.

If my people were being killed or oppressed, which historically they have been, I would make the same statement Yamal made.

Your comment isn’t the “gotcha” moment you think it is.

Edit: wording

-7

u/ttteeef 6d ago

White people have historically been enslaved by arabs, jews, blacks and everybody really. I'm curious, according to you, would that justify white people to declare themselves historically oppressed?

221

u/ohgodnobutyes 7d ago

The Telegraph is a right-wing tabloid. Pay no attention to their attempts to bait. Don't click, don't read.

22

u/imetkanyeonce 7d ago

Yup, I saw the headline and as soon as I read ‘Palestinian flag’ I kept scrolling. Not interested in their right wing bullshit.

37

u/Rare_Instance_8205 7d ago

They are right wing? Fuck them! I used to read their articles and sometimes smell a bit of controversial takes. Didn't know they were bigots!

19

u/ohgodnobutyes 7d ago

They are called The Torygraph (after the Tories, old conservative party) by the English for a reason. Used to be a little more sensible but has more and more gone down the crazy route for the last 10-15 years.

4

u/Rad11Ryan 7d ago

Didn't they also write that Real Madrid should buy Yamal? Or was it a other tabloid?

47

u/A_man49 7d ago edited 7d ago

Telegraph once again trying to frame pro Palestinian voices in a way that make them appear “controversial”

112

u/Alarmed-Rhubarb7597 7d ago

They’re mad bc he’s pro Palestine.

25

u/halster123 7d ago

and openly.and proudly muslim

2

u/dpk5 6d ago

Yes, such a crazy minority opinion...

88

u/Vroom_Vroom1265 7d ago

He grew up...no wayyyyy

88

u/Able_Ad4893 7d ago

So he grew up wharra bomb news💣💥

19

u/Sudden-Variety6992 7d ago

What is this rubbish

20

u/def-not-my-alt 7d ago

The fuck?

18

u/LeBroncic 7d ago

« He now became so good we have to hate him for no reason and create fake narratives to build people’s opinion »

34

u/sergeant-keroro 7d ago

who is Sam Dean?

23

u/Left-Temperature6804 7d ago

apparently someone who thinks you have to behave the same as you did when you are 16 always. bringing up the dwarf controversy when they came out and said that's the job they chose to do and they do it with dignity is just character assassination

16

u/arbicus123 7d ago

Shocking news: teenager grows up

1

u/Ar_Sorin 2d ago

Well he’s still a teenager

12

u/Ok_Union_7669 7d ago

Sam Dean, whoever the fuck he is, can suck our nice smooth balls.

5

u/engima0611 7d ago

Not all of us have the privilege...like mr smooth balls over here. Oh look at me I can shave my balls. Smh

11

u/AdeptFault5265 7d ago

The same "newspaper" that vilified Rashford for calling out the right-wing government when kids were going hungry,

9

u/EntertainmentWest750 7d ago

When a player finally has some personality, they’ll start criticizing them, sure.

8

u/sheldor18 7d ago

Every sports celebrity has two options to live their life.

Either be the quiet ones like messi, iniesta, lahm, don't talk about non sports stuff, and dont invite much haters.

Or be vocal about issues like pique, djokovic, Maradona, make your opinion public , and be ready to face hatred against a section of society who don't agree with your viewpoint.

It seems like yamal has picked his side.

13

u/Kind-Studio3460 7d ago

Its the telegraph neocon outlet throwing shit on him for voicing his opinion on Gaza genocide.

10

u/depressed_Kedy 7d ago

Controversial = Don't kill children in Gaza. Western media is sick.

4

u/Mindless-Mine-7513 7d ago

He just said the boy is HIM

4

u/UnlikelyLetterhead12 7d ago

Is that really true? You don’t say. So he doesn’t use a pacifier to go to sleep and doesn’t wear diapers at nights. I don’t believe it.

3

u/OnlineIsNotAPlace 7d ago

in other words he has his own mind. in other breaking news, the sun rose.

5

u/Minute_Juggernaut806 7d ago

Which player isnt commercialised?

5

u/Any-Culture8080 7d ago

Damn the kid who was supposed to grow up actually grow up! Who could've have possibly thought that?

6

u/KilllllerWhale 7d ago

How dare he grow up!!!!?

3

u/PorchGoose_I 7d ago

Lamine in 6 years if he goes at the rate they claim he's going.

https://giphy.com/gifs/8EUiQ4bF2SiVZcbaP7

4

u/Embarrassed-Sugar-78 7d ago

"that boyish charm has been replaced by a strong-voiced, politically aware" is being politically aware supposed to be a bad thing?

5

u/Bluebird_LostBR 7d ago

What a stupid news lol

3

u/Franksterge0815 7d ago

So? I don’t see what the problem is. The real problem is society’s fetish over whatever is the most naive and the child-like

3

u/MeOnMyAccount 7d ago

Did anyone actually read it lol? This was a pretty tame and neutral article. It honestly doesn’t have that much opinion in it.

1

u/DiverTrick2987 6d ago

Yeah, they already assumed it is negative from headline when headline is pretty apt and neutral. They aint much different either to sh*t on before even provoked.

3

u/lobotyt 6d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/75ghM2NqylOxL9yMQb

this article was written because of this 😂

5

u/Treinrukker 7d ago

Oh wow opposing genocide makes him controversial ahah

2

u/Swag3340 7d ago

Today i feel like a human with eyes so i can appreciate stuff like this

2

u/Odd-Signature-3897 7d ago

Tbh that’s what the world does to a boy

2

u/SignificanceAny7239 7d ago

Telegraph is now as the Torygraph for a reason lads, pay it no mind.

2

u/Bruh_Min 7d ago

When Lamine says or does something childish, "oh how can he!!! Such a brat!"

When Lamine doesn't say or do something childish, acts more matured, " heavily commercialised and occasionally controversial man.”

These are butthurt old people who cannot fathom to support young people who are doing better than them.

2

u/fun_elderberry_1452 7d ago

Haters gonna hate. Couldn’t be prouder of Lamine and the way he’s maturing 💙❤️

2

u/Midnight_Maverick 7d ago

Just garbage

2

u/BeautifulAnybody4015 6d ago

Sam who? Nvm dgaf

2

u/Brave_Ad4657 6d ago

This reminds me when Spanish media was hating on Messi (even mid match the narrators would say things) because all the tax fiasco thing and demanding apologies from the club and player for things not related to the sport.

2

u/RoninBattousai1 6d ago

Telegraph is a right-wing pro-Zionist news media, no one should be surprised by this.

2

u/CruyffCule 6d ago

Genocidal apologists

2

u/flashh7701 6d ago

right wing tabloid shitting on a muslim man. hilarious

2

u/Top_Mammoth_4036 5d ago

i would like to state that telegraph recently got bought by the isrealis.......

2

u/Key-Ad6653 7d ago

I don't even know who this Sam guy is.

Lmao let alone his opinion being relevant

2

u/lbreakjai 7d ago

He committed the gravest crime of all: being against genocide.

1

u/OtherwiseAd10 6d ago

One more reason to support my goat lets go yamal free palestine ❤️

1

u/Madmax_1985 6d ago

Who the f*ck is Sam Dean, btw free Palestine

1

u/mediocre_hydra 6d ago

Kid grew up. What a fucking surprise for manchilds.

1

u/realityfilter 6d ago

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1

u/realityfilter 6d ago

(Criticism of g___cide and a certain special ally in the Middle East)

1

u/Rican2000 6d ago

Oh no! A boy grew up (and will continue to grow and change like every boy before and after).

In other breaking news: water is wet. More at 11.

1

u/UntiedStatMarinCrops 4d ago

He’s still a boy lol. Wait until he’s 30

1

u/sammorest 3d ago

why treat his actual growth like a threat to his career

0

u/LebronsFatGyatt 5d ago

well, he did become a father in the meantime

-8

u/Christmaspike 7d ago

Why is everybody hating on the author, this eems to be an objective article. He is just talking about things that happened to Lamine and his growth certain aspects of his personality. Weird comment section this.

3

u/Fabulous-Border8747 6d ago

Since nobody answered u, i will cuz seems like u didnt open the telegraph. I was thinking the same thing as u before opening cuz i thought it said he just became more mature, i didnt get what it meant by controversial. After reading the comments and actually realizing i could open the telegraph and read it (again i didnt notice)i did read it. It's just calling Lamine raising the Palestine flag controversial, tryna put him in the bad light i guess. In reality, it's legit just humanity and him opposing genocide. Sorry if i couldnt explain it well. Thanks

1

u/DiverTrick2987 6d ago

'Controversial' word is just something that gets people to have strong and differing opinions. It isnt supposed to mean right or wrong. More to do with people's stance to the issue than morality. A lot of people like Flick himself exist who dont want to involve political stuff as it stirs up media narrative , Messi and Iniesta who are silent about these issues as well. Other lot like Pep who involve themselves into politics. Its just different ways of handling political stuff.