When I hear the name Lamine Yamal it brings a smile to my face, because I’ve watched him grow since he was 15, practically a child, and we gave him his debut at Barcelona. I feel an immense sense of joy to see Lamine succeed. We sometimes forget he’s only 18 and perhaps we demand too much of him, but he’s so capable — he has such an ability to do so many things on the pitch that his influence has grown. Team-mates search for him more. When there are problems at various points in the match, the ball goes to Lamine. He’s a leader on the pitch who makes the difference at 18 — something we’ve only seen with Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pele and maybe Ronaldo, ‘O Fenomeno’. He’s 18 and has already won three La Liga titles, a European Championship and is in the World Cup quarter-finals. Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic appHe could be the star of an era, provided his ambition, attitude and determination are right. We’re looking at a world-class star who could be the best player of his generation. He’s already — if not the best — among the top five of his generation. But for me, he is different. The next 15 to 20 years belong to Lamine, if he wants. If he wants them, they are his. (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)I heard about him around Barcelona before I saw him. People were talking about this boy — and the same thing had happened to me with Leo (Messi). I was told there was an Argentinian who played really well, who stood out and so on, and with Lamine practically the same thing happened to me.The first time I saw him was in a youth match the club had recorded for us. He was 15 and put in a brilliant performance that day, providing two assists and scoring a goal. He did everything. I thought, ‘Bloody hell, we don’t have anyone like this up front’. This boy was different from everyone else his age, way above them. The difference was staggering — he practically did whatever he wanted on the pitch. I spoke to Barca’s then director of football Mateu Alemany and sporting director Jordi Cruyff and I said, ‘Look, we’re short of players in the first team. I want to give this boy a go’. They told me to wait, because he didn’t have a contract. His contract had just run out, he was being represented by Ivan de la Pena and he later switched to Jorge Mendes. But they told me, ‘Don’t play him just yet — he doesn’t have a contract’. I said, ‘But I can call him up for training?’ I wanted him to train with the first team straight away. This boy came along to train aged 15 and you could already see something different, something special. He dribbled really well. He made excellent decisions, he rarely made mistakes.That’s what surprised me most during the rondo drills, the positional games, and the matches we played with the first team. He didn’t make a mistake. (David Aliaga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)You hardly ever had to tell him, ‘Lamine, watch out, you had two, three situations there where you could have done better’. At 15, he was doing almost everything right. We said, ‘Bloody hell, this boy’s different’. We treated him very well, we gave him a very good contract, we spoke to his agent, and from there I was able to give him his debut, because I could see he was ready. I could really see that. This boy is not afraid of anything. As a manager, when you put your hand on a lot of players’ backs, you can feel their heart right here (points to his neck). Thump, thump, thump. You know? Well, I’d put my hand on his back and it was like his heart wasn’t beating. I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s calm’.So we put him in on a day we were winning, in an easier match. We were 4-0 up at home against Real Betis and they were down to 10 men. I said, ‘Now’s the time’. I told my brother (assistant coach Oscar Hernandez) to tell Lamine to warm up. On the bench, everyone was like, ‘Really? Lamine?’, I said, ‘Yes, yes, tell him to warm up. I’m putting him on. I’ve got no problem with it’.Yamal making his Barcelona debut against Real Betis in 2023, as Xavi watches on (Str/Xinhua via Getty Images)The comparisons with Messi were inevitable because that’s where he plays. He’s left-footed, and he plays in the same position as Leo has in recent years — on the right wing. He cuts inside, creates opportunities for himself and is capable of delivering the final pass, too. There are many similarities with Leo. But I don’t think we’re doing the boy any favours by comparing him to the greatest of all time — it puts extra pressure on him. Even so, I don’t think he minds. That’s why I was saying he has a very strong personality, because he doesn’t care. He wants the ball. He wants to play football. He enjoys it. He has a good time and has fun with the ball at his feet.