Lamin Yamal will wear the number 19 at Barca, the same number Messi wore in the early years of his career.
This was the number that Lamin Yamal wore for Luis de la Fuente’s Spain national team. Behind him is the number 19, the same one Messi wore when he started at the Camp Nou from 2005 to 2008. The Barça winger (17) became one of the biggest stars of the Eurocup (one goal, four assists, best young player and the author of the most beautiful goal of the tournament – a left-footed strike against France).
It is the same number that Barça will wear next season, the number that Vitor Roque wore last year, as it appeared on the summer market last January. “The number 10 is Ansu’s, it’s not free,” the young forward recalled when asked if he would like to choose such a symbolic number.
Lamin Jamal was particularly careful and respectful of Ansu, who returned from a fruitless loan to Brighton without knowing whether he would continue at Barça next season. Although from a commercial point of view the power of a 10 is radically different from that of a 19, Lamin did not want to change the established order.
The Face of Hope
And not to put himself under more pressure than his magnificent football has already put him under. He, as happened to Ansu himself after Messi left for PSG, is the face of the team’s hopes and the banner of the club’s best future, forced to discuss the hegemony of Madrid, two-time champion (League and Champions League), which has also just been reinforced by Mbappé.
Lamine changed the number 27, with which he debuted at Barça last season, to 19, a number that Messi also wore in the early years of his career, when he emerged in the team of the “virtuous circle”, then led by Ronaldinho. This happened at Rijkaard’s Barça, where Leo wore the number 19 (2005-2008) before the arrival of Guardiola, which led to the departure of “Ronny”, allowing him to wear the number 10.
Before Messi, he was taken, among others, Racing or Pizzi and after Messi they took him away Maxwell, Montoya, Afellay, Sandro Ramirez, Digne, Munir, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Aleña, Braithwaite, Matheus Fernandesfleetingly, Kun Aguero, also very briefly because he was diagnosed with a heart problem that forced him to retire, Ferran Torres, Cassie and the last one was Vitor Roque, whose future at the club is also in question despite arriving just seven months ago.
Lamin Jamal follows the same path as Leo before reaching 10. The youth player started with 27; Messi started with number 30. Now the paths cross at number 19, perhaps a prologue for the striker who grew up in the Rocafond area, who will soon wear this traditional number that distinguishes the stars.