Barcelona attacker Lamine Yamal scored in the 3-3 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League last night.
The Ballon d’Or runner-up has endured a stop-start beginning to the 2025/26 season due to a pubalgia injury that has caused him to miss a few games.
There have been several theories surrounding his injury, from its origins to its effects – short-term and long-term, physical, mental and much more.
Yamal addressed the speculation after Barcelona’s Champions League clash.
Yamal said (via Mundo Deportivo): “There’s been a lot of talk about my pubalgia, about me being sad, and it was all lies.
“I was the same as always, very happy, focused on my own game, trying to get back to work and be able to play at this level, which is how I feel best and how I enjoy myself the most.”
Yamal is finding his form at the right time for Barca as the supporting cast struggled with injuries.
The Blaugrana have several key players sidelined and need the 18-year-old to step up.
He has obliged with successive goals since El Clasico and will hope he can keep up this form.
Yamal’s situation is a perfect example of how modern football culture, fuelled by relentless media and online speculation, can place an almost unbearable microscope on young players.
The scrutiny he faces often blurs the line between healthy interest and invasive obsession.
Yamal’s slight dip in form earlier this season was entirely natural.
He’s dealing with a physically demanding condition and his first full professional calendar for the first time.
He also now carries the expectations that come with being Barcelona’s number ten, a shirt previously worn by Lionel Messi.
No athlete, let alone one still developing physically and mentally, can sustain peak form year-round.
He is now rediscovering his rhythm and showing the spark that made him a generational talent.
