Lamine Yamal, Barcelona winger, stressed this Monday that he is inspired by the player of the NBA LeBron James for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Atlético de Madrid, in which his team will try to overcome an adverse result, as he did in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors, and insisted on thinking “how he did it” and “hopefully” it “turns out the same.”
“I think he is one of the references that can inspire me for this Tuesday’s game. That’s why I put it (a photo on his Instagram account). Think about him, how he did it and I hope it turns out the same,” he proclaimed at the press conference at the Metropolitano, the scene of this Tuesday’s match.
Lamine Yamal is “looking forward” to the game at the Metropolitano. “Right now is when the real players come out,” said the winger, after his start to the season was questioned, when he suffered pubalgia.
“I feel very good, I’m really looking forward to the game and I am motivated for that. I hope I can make a difference. Let’s see if ‘El Cholo’ (Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid) does me a favor, puts me one on one with a player… I hope so,” he remarked.
“I have been lucky that, since I was little, I have had to take on more responsibilities than I should have. I’m a little used to it and I only think about enjoying it, not assuming it as a problem, but as a virtue. “Enjoying every moment I spend with my teammates and all the trust they give me is gold,” he added.
The winger trusts in the group and in the comeback: “We have a lot of quality, world-class players. I don’t think it will happen just because of me. If it happens, I wouldn’t care either, but I think we have a team with many players to turn the game around. And that’s why I trust in the team.”
He also reflected that the fact that many Barcelona players come from the youth academy is “very important” for this type of duel. “We are all from the house, we love Barça and we will give everything until the end. We don’t care how; we will play and fight until the end”he added.
And he promised: “If we are eliminated, it will be fighting until the end. We will not leave a minute without pressing, without running. We will leave everything for this shield. It will be a game of 90 minutes or more. We are sure it is not finished. “I think a comeback is very possible and that’s what we’re here for.”
For him, it is special to score goals in the Champions League. “I think that, with the World Cup, they are the two most important competitions in football. And that says everything. I have always dreamed of scoring goals with Barcelona in the Champions League and that is why it is what excites me the most,” he declared.
In the future three years from now, Lamine Yamal hopes to have “many more titles” than he has now. “I hope I can have a World Cup and a ‘Champions’. Anything that involves adding titles will make me very happy,” he highlighted.
Born for moments like this. pic.twitter.com/BEghixlENf
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 13, 2026