The teenager is looking to Neymar’s history of heroics as Barcelona face a daunting 2-0 deficit against Atletico in the Champions League quarter-finals. Yamal referenced the famous 6-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, where Neymar played a starring role in one of the greatest comebacks in football history to overturn a 4-0 first-leg loss.
“I’ve watched (the 6-1 match) several times, and I watched it live as well,” Yamal admitted. “Neymar is a player who was very important for me during my childhood.”
The teenager is also taking motivation from outside football. Yamal recently changed his Instagram profile picture to NBA legend LeBron James celebrating the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 championship after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit.
“He’s one of the figures who can inspire me for this match,” he added. “I’ll think about how he did it and hopefully it works out the same for me.”