‘The first year will be tough’ – PSG boss Enrique on Tottenham’s struggles under Frank
Video credit: TNT Sports
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has urged Barcelona star Lamine Yamal to “surround himself with people who truly support him.”Yamal is regarded as one of the most talented young players in world football and continues to impress at Barcelona.
Last season he scored 18 goals in 55 appearances for the Catalan club as the team won La Liga, but this season has proved to be a little more difficult.
While he has six goals already in the current campaign, he has found his season interrupted by a groin injury, which has also seen Barcelona and the Spanish national team disagree over how to handle his fitness and playing duties.
The 18-year-old has also come in for criticism for how his attitude is perceived, as well as his personal life.
Yamal is set to feature for Barcelona at Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Speaking to Movistar, Nadal offered his own advice to the youngster about how to protect himself, and said he should be careful about who he keeps around him.
The former tennis player is famously a Real Madrid fan – though his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for Barcelona in the 1990s – but nevertheless gave some guidance to the Catalan star.
“He should surround himself with people who truly support him and who are smart enough to listen to what successful people prefer to ignore,” Nadal said.
“He should surround himself with people who sincerely want him to be happy, and he should know how to listen to them, which is not always easy when you are such a famous personality, in the spotlight.
“It’s important for him, given his young age. He must surround himself with people who will benefit him, whether it is his family or a team. Everyone’s reality is different, and everyone has their own mentality and personality.
‘They know how we play now’ – Kvaratskhelia on the challenge of being Champions League holders
Video credit: TNT Sports
“There are many paths to success, but the way you handle it and live with it for years can make you a balanced and happy person, or on the contrary, success can make you unhappy because the notoriety ends up consuming you.”
Nadal turned professional in men’s tennis in 2001, and over the next two decades became an all-time great of the sport.
He won a remarkable 14 French Open titles, along with two Australian Open crowns, Wimbledon twice, and four US Open titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games.
He won 92 career titles in all, the fifth most in the Open Era, and retired last year.
Barcelona are 11th in the Champions League table, with seven points, after two wins, a draw and a defeat. They are above Chelsea, in 12th place, on goal difference.
Watch and stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+