Wojciech Szczesny has been chatting about Lamine Yamal and thinks the teenager is staying grounded despite all the attention that surrounds him at present.
Yamal has emerged as arguably the biggest talent on the planet after becoming a key player for Barcelona and Spain.
Szczesny has been asked about his teenage team-mate and thinks he’s doing just fine on and off the pitch.
“You know what I think? Everyone has their own path. And to this day, I don’t see any red flags. I think his attitude towards football, towards life, is what makes him the player he is,” he told FootTruckTV.
“And it’s like… you can’t really change someone’s personality. They say Neymar could have achieved so much more in football if he’d had a different mentality. But if he had approached football and life differently, he wouldn’t have been the Neymar who puts on a show.”
Szczesny also thinks that Yamal should simply be himself and continue to bring joy to football fans around the world.
“I think with personalities like that, you shouldn’t hold them back too much. You have to let them enjoy football, because that joy isn’t just contagious for their teammates, it inspires millions of people around the world,” he added.
“But I think that’s more due to Lamine ’s surroundings than to him. He’s only 17. He has the right, maybe even the obligation, to make some youthful mistakes. Let’s hope that if he does, it won’t have serious consequences. But his surroundings will undoubtedly be important to him.”
Yamal has been jetting off around the world during the off-season. He spent time with Neymar in Brazil and has since flown out to Shanghai for an event with sponsors Adidas.