Lamine Yamal wants to own Barça's No 10 his way, all the way

The number on a player's back has the potential to make or break a career, as quite a few can attest. All eyes are now on teenager Lamine Yamal after he took on Barcelona's most famous shirt.

- By Yanga Sibembe

Lamine Yamal has been destined to follow in the footsteps of sports legend Lionel Messi since the pair coincidentally crossed paths in 2007. That year, as a six-month-old infant, Yamal won the opportunity to be in a photoshoot with a 20-year-old Messi as part of a charity effort.

The Barça Foundation, in conjunction with Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, ran a raffle to choose 12 lucky babies who would pose with 12 selected Barcelona stars, with each picture adorning one month on the calendar. The proceeds from the calendar sales would go to charities such as Unicef. Yamal's family was one of the winners.

Last month, Barcelona confirmed that for the 2025/26 season, Yamal will wear the club's famous No 10 shirt. Its most legendary wearer in recent memory is none other than Messi, while other notable wearers include Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Diego Maradona and Juan Roman Riquelme.

It's evidently a number stacked with history for the Catalan club - and teenage sensation Yamal seems ready to carry it on his youthful shoulders. The No 10 before him was another teenage prodigy, Ansu Fati.

A cautionary tale

Fati is a product of Barcelona's academy, La Masia, just like Messi and Yamal. He too attracted attention from a young age, debuting for the first team at just 16 years old. Alongside Yamal and three others, Fati is one of Barcelona's five youngest debutants.

Fati was so promising that, just a year after his senior debut, he finished second behind Manchester City striker Erling Haaland in the race for the 2020 Golden Boy award. It goes to the best under-21 player in Europe each season.