FIFA president Gianni Infantino has openly praised Lamine Yamal, hailing the young FC Barcelona prodigy as an extraordinary talent who, in his view, deserves to feature in the upcoming Club World Cup.
Yamal’s season with Barcelona has been remarkable. The La Masia graduate has shattered, before even turning 18, established himself as one of the most exciting players in world football.
The youngster’s tally of 18 goals and 25 assists, alongside standout performances in all of Barça’s key matches this campaign, helped the club secure the Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey, and La Liga titles, as well as a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
The impact of his performances has been such that many in the football world are already hailing him as the best in the game currently while he has also emerged as a frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or.
Among his many admirers is Gianni Infantino, who expressed his admiration during a live-stream with popular content creator iShowSpeed (h/t SPORT):
“He is fantastic. He’s still a kid and he’s playing at an incredible level. He has the quality of true champions, because he makes difficult things look easy. When you see him play you think, it’s easy, but if you try to do what he does…”
Infantino also voiced his disappointment that Yamal will not be participating in the upcoming Club World Cup, saying: “He should play in the Club World Cup.”
Barcelona narrowly missed out on qualifying for the first edition of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup, which is based on clubs’ European performances over the past four seasons. Spain’s two allocated spots were taken by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
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