Wojciech Szczesny has jumped to Lamine Yamal’s defence after some unwanted headlines.
The Barcelona teen sensation has been in the news over claims about his 18th birthday, but his goalkeeper teammate has attempted to put the world at ease over off field concerns.
“I see no warning signs in his behaviour off the pitch, and in fact, his attitude toward football and life makes him the player he is,” the Pole began.
“You can’t change people’s character. They say Neymar could have achieved much more in football if he had had a different mentality.
“But if Neymar had approached football and life differently, he wouldn’t have been that Neymar, the one who puts on a show.
“Players who have Lamine Yamal‘s personality, it’s best not to hold them back too much, as we have to let them enjoy football.
“That joy is not only contagious to their teammates, but also inspires millions of people around the world.”
He continued: “Lamine is only 17 years old. He has the right, even the obligation, to make some youthful mistakes. If he does, let’s hope they don’t have major consequences, but his environment will certainly be important to him.
“Lamine is still playing street football and will continue to do so for the rest of his career. Even if he misses a pass or a dribble, he and the defender covering him know that was the only time he missed. And then he makes it ten times in a row.
“And he puts on a show. Players like that make people fall in love with football.”
Szczesny was then asked if Lamine should win the Ballon d’Or, but he instead picked another teammate despite his praise.
“Pedri is the player who impressed me the most and was the best this year in Europe.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, how he controls games. He never loses the ball. Some players manage to do that by playing it safe, but he’s always surrounded, dribbling, making passes… If you give him the ball, you know he’s going to be safe.”
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