SUMMARY
- Lamine Yamal shared a celebratory post on Instagram after FC Barcelona's 1-0 win against Mallorca.
- In 2023, Alejandro Garnacho faced criticism after he shared a picture of Andre Onana.
Lamine Yamal has emerged as the messiah of FC Barcelona during the club’s ongoing tough times. Yamal was once again sensational as FC Barcelona narrowly defeated RCD Mallorca via a late goal from the former. He has been much celebrated by the club’s supporters and his teammates after the recent win. However, a strange detail was spotted in one of the players’ congratulatory messages for Yamal.
Lamine Yamal is rapidly rising as one of the best young soccer players in the world. Despite having the likes of Robert Lewandowski or Ilkay Gundogan, FC Barcelona is often relying on Yamal to win them the games. Indeed, it was Yamal’s 73rd-minute, sumptuous shot that saved FC Barcelona’s blushes against Mallorca. Moreover, the fact that he is not even 17 yet makes Yamal’s performances even more remarkable.
Lamine Yamal (16) 🆚 Mallorca:
⚽️ 1 goal
👟 87% pass accuracy
😳 2 chances created
🥅 1 shots on target
👍 70 touches
⚔️ 2/3 tackles won
👌🏽 7 recoveries
💪🏽 5 ground duels won
⭐️ 8.4 match ratingGenerational talent! 💎
And scored a golazooooo 💥 pic.twitter.com/bnAU6ay7Dc— Mozez😮💨💀 (@Mozez1537337) March 8, 2024
Following FC Barcelona‘s 1-0 win against Mallorca, Lamine Yamal shared a celebratory post on Instagram. Several FC Barcelona players commented on Yamal’s post and shared congratulatory comments. Players like Gundogan, Jules Kounde, Vitor Roque, and even Athletic Bilbao forward and Yamal’s compatriot congratulated the latter. However, it was FC Barcelona youngster Marc Guiu’s comment that raised some eyebrows.
Barça’s youngsters comment on Lamine Yamal’s latest IG post:
– Cubarsí: “You’re going alone.”
– Fort: “[Your shot] was a cross…”
– Casadó: “[Your goal] was unintentional.”
– Guiu: “Whatever you want paki!” pic.twitter.com/PITvgC5nDK
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) March 9, 2024
Guiu wrote in Spanish, “Whatever you want paki,” and shared some emojis. The word “paki” is considered to be a racial slur for someone who has migrated from Pakistan or some other South Asian country. While Yamal is a Spanish citizen by birth, he practices Islam. Nevertheless, while Guiu’s comment might not have been written in bad faith, it has created quite a controversy.
Andre Onana suffered a similar fate to Lamine Yamal last year
Meanwhile, Marc Guiu’s comment about Lamine Yamal has brought back memories of Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho’s comment on his teammate Andre Onana. In 2023, Alejandro Garnacho shared a picture of Andre Onana on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the latter saved a dramatic penalty against Copenhagen. He shared the picture of Onana and added two gorilla emojis.
🔴🇦🇷 FA have been investigating into Garnacho’s social media post in which he used gorilla emojis over a picture of Andre Onana’s penalty save.
🇨🇲 Onana replies: “People can’t choose what I should be offended by. Garnacho meant power and strenght. This should go no further”. pic.twitter.com/k6kea9Iwgz
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 26, 2023
However, Garnacho’s post went viral, with the Argentine youngster ultimately being forced to delete the post. It was also reported that Alejandro Garnacho might face sanctions from the FA because his post was racially abusive in nature. Onana, however, came to Garnacho’s rescue and shut down Alejandro’s critics. The Cameroonian goalkeeper also added that he wasn’t offended by his teammate’s post.
FC Barcelona coach downplays Lamine Yamal’s comparisons to Lionel Messi
Lamine Yamal’s performances on the pitch have immediately led to him being compared to Lionel Messi. Both Yamal and Messi share similar traits; like Messi, Yamal too is left-footed and has a similar playing profile. Following Yamal’s goal against Mallorca, Mallorca head coach Javier Aguirre also compared Yamal to the former FC Barcelona skipper.
However, FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez set the record straight by downplaying the rumors. He said, “Anyone will lose when compared to Messi.” Although, Xavi did shower praises on the 16-year-old FC Barcelona forward. In addition to this, the club would like to protect Yamal so that their mistake with Ansu Fati, who was also compared to Messi, wouldn’t be repeated again.