Barcelona were reluctant to start Lamine Yamal when he was younger amid fear that other clubs would poach him before he could be signed to a contract.

Yamal only turned 17 back in July but he has already established himself as one of the world’s best players.

A sensational first season in the Barca first team yielded seven goals and nine assists in 50 appearances, while he already has four goals and four assists in six games this term. Sandwiched between this fine club form was a summer of success with Spain, leading his country to Euro 2024 glory.

Former Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff, who left the club in 2023, has now revealed that he and ex-head coach Xavi were eager to play Yamal even earlier than planned. But as he was not under a professional contract, they were worried he would be offered a more lucrative deal elsewhere if his talent was displayed to the world, while AS report the club ‘hid’ him.

“The first time he went to train [with the first team], after five minutes the coach, who was Xavi, looked at us and said ‘this is special’,” Cruyff told Movistar Plus.

“I wanted to give him his debut sooner, but we didn’t have a contract with the boy so we had to first make sure that he was going to be ours for many years.

“Even the veterans saw that he was something different, very difficult to find.”

Cruyff was speaking after Yamal scored his first ever UEFA Champions League goal in Thursday’s 2-1 loss at AS Monaco.

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