Lamine Yamal's Great Challenge in his 1st Year as Barça's '10'

Published New:29/06/2025 - 02:02h

Updated New:6/07/2025 - 08:54h

Lamine Yamal will be Barça's '10' in 25/26, after Ansu Fati's departure. In 2009, Leo Messi won the treble in his first season with the legendary number. Will the Mataró native be able to emulate him?

2025/26 promises to be a defining season for Lamine Yamal. The Mataró native, already of legal age, faces his third season with FC Barcelona knowing he is the great figure of a team that has just won everything at the local level in 24/25 and came close to the Champions League final. Not surprisingly, the winger will wear the '10' on his back.

Lamine assumes the pressure of feeling like the great reference of the Barça sports project with the mission of helping the team win everything on their return to the Sportify Camp Nou and improve his extraordinary performance the previous year. In addition, it is a season prior to what will be his first World Cup with Spain.

Lamine Yamal will try to emulate Leo Messi in his first year with Barça's '10'

Lamine Yamal and Ansu Fati in the match between FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League

In that sense, the Catalan footballer will have a very particular challenge in 25/26. On the one hand, inheriting the '10' that so many 'cracks' of Barça have worn, with Leo Messi being the best by far. The Rosario native left his number in the hands of Ansu Fati, but injuries prevented the Bissau native from meeting the expectations he generated in his debut with the first team.

Afterwards, Yamal has ahead of him to match what 'La Pulga' did in his first season wearing the '10' on his back. The Rosario native inherited Ronaldinho's number, with the challenge of being the great leader of a Barcelona that was facing a season, in theory, of transition with Pep Guardiola on the bench.

It was in the summer of 2008 when the Brazilian star left for Milan, leaving all the responsibility on Messi's shoulders. What came next could not have been better for the Barça team: their first treble, the second Champions League and the Ballon d'Or for Leo.

That season, the Argentine scored 38 goals and provided 17 assists in 51 games, in his fifth season with the first team and with 21 years old.

The Champions League, Barça and Lamine's great objective for 2026

This year, Lamine was already able to win the national treble (League, Cup and Super Cup) with Hansi Flick's team. At just 17 years old, the Mataró native is already a clear favorite for the Ballon d'Or, despite not winning the Champions League or playing in the Club World Cup.

⚽Lamine Yamal's records in 24/25:

Matches: 55 (52 as starter)
Minutes played:
Goals: 18
Assists: 23
Warnings: 3
Titles: 3

Barça were on the verge of reaching the final in the Champions League despite the great performance of the youth player in the tie against Inter Milan. In 2026, the 'culés' main objective is to dominate the local scene again, but also to reign in Europe, an objective that the club has resisted since 2015.

Regarding that first season of Messi as Barça's '10', the current panorama is much more favorable: In 2008, Barça came from two seasons without titles and dispensed with several of their references, including Ronaldinho and Deco. No stellar names arrived in the market either, although Dani Alves ended up being a real 'signing'.

Now, with a solid team and confidence sky-high after a historic season, which will also be reinforced in all its lines with 'top' signings (Joan García and Nico Williams, the first), Barça has everything to reach glory led by Lamine Yamal.

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