Is Yamal only 17 years old?

A humorous question that has been widely asked by fans recently is: Is the superstar striker Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, ​​Spain) really only 17 years old?

Yamal is becoming more mature with each game - Photo: REUTERS

"Players like Yamal only appear about once every 50 years. Personally, I've never faced a player like him," exclaimed Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi after the 3-3 draw between Barca and Inter in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on the morning of May 1st.

Inzaghi himself is also a former football legend. His younger brother spent over a decade playing for Lazio, facing numerous world- class superstars in Serie A.

Inzaghi's praise for Yamal is of great significance, especially since the 49-year-old former player has now become a world-class coach.

Against Inter Milan, Yamal played an extraordinary game. He not only scored a spectacular goal (dribbling past three players before finishing with a delicate shot) but also created numerous other opportunities with his unusually agile footwork.

The match early this morning marked a special milestone for Yamal, exactly two years since his debut for the Barca first team (April 29, 2023). Yamal was only 15 years old at the time.

After all the extraordinary things the Spanish superstar has done, is he really only 17 years old?

Many fans have commented in this way about Yamal. Some even jokingly suggested that Yamal might have lied about his age, something not uncommon in the world of football.

Of course, that's just a joke. In reality, the world of football is becoming younger and younger. The average age of players has also decreased significantly.

Data from the International Centre for Football Studies (CIES) shows that the average age of players making their first-team debut (in European football) was 20.8 years old, between 2000 and 2012.

But from 2020 onwards, the corresponding figure is only 18.6 years old. This means that most football stars today make their first-team debut at around 17-19 years old. Yamal's case – making his Barca debut at 15 years old – is rare but not entirely unusual.

The percentage of U18 players playing in European national leagues also increased from 6% to 18% between the two aforementioned periods. And the average age of players decreased from 26.9 to 25.5.

Yamal is certainly special, and one of a kind in European football right now. But overall, his talent is the result of the clear direction of the La Masia academy. CIES has numerous surveys showing that La Masia consistently ranks among the top three football academies in the world.

La Masia, with its foundation in science , technology, and technical training, has helped 17-year-old Lamine Yamal play football with the same sharpness as Messi or Ronaldo in their twenties.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/yamal-17-tuoi-thoi-u-20250501080151976.htm