FC Barcelona defeated Benfica in Lisbon (0-1) on a tough night for Lamine Yamal. The winger only played 56 minutes during which, due to Barcelona's numerical disadvantage, he had few opportunities to showcase his usual imbalance on the wing. After the match, former Barcelona player Thierry Henry surprised with a reflection on the player from Mataró on the show 'CBS Sports Golazo'.
The French football legend, who won the treble with Barcelona in 2009, recalled Bojan Krkic to draw a comparison with Lamine. Henry arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 2007, just as the player from Linyola was rising to the first team, after becoming the all-time top scorer of the reserve team. Despite his talent, the then-youngster (he was 17 years old when he debuted against Osasuna in September 2007) never managed to fully realize his potential.
Henry Uses Bojan as an Example to Manage Lamine's Talent
"I think Bojan got lost in terms of anxiety, of not wanting to be seen too much. That is something that sometimes people do not understand and do not want to understand. They see you there, you are playing and they forget that he is a kid who went from being unknown to everyone thinking he is good", began 'Titi'. Krkic left on loan in 2011 after playing 163 matches in which he scored 41 goals with the blue and garnet team.
After that, he went through Italy, England, and Germany before returning to LaLiga with Alavés. In 2022, he retired with Vissel Kobe in Japan at just 32 years old. Today he works in the Barcelona management, as the coordinator of the football area. In that sense, Henry recommended watching the documentary 'Bojan, beyond the smile' "to understand what it is like to be a star too early".
Unlike the player from Linyola, who preferred not to go with Spain to the Euro 2008, Yamal did dare to take on a starring role with La Roja in the last European Championship. Indeed, in terms of personality, the player from Mataró has shown an unusual maturity both on and off the field for a kid his age. Still, Thierry Henry urges the club and the fans not to forget cases like Bojan's to manage Lamine's immense talent in the best way possible.