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Topics: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, La Liga, Real Madrid, Champions League, Football
Ryan Smart
Topics: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, La Liga, Real Madrid, Champions League, Football
Lamine Yamal has reportedly held talks with Barcelona ahead of this weekend's El Clasico after being involved in an 'uncomfortable situation'.
Barca take on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Sunday, and will end the day on top of the La Liga table if they win.
The match will be placed amid the backdrop of Barcelona's fixture against Villarreal, which was due to be held in December, being cancelled earlier this week.
The fixture was due to be the first European domestic league match to be played outside of Europe, with Miami's Hard Rock Stadium due to be the host.
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However, amid backlash from players, coaches and pundits, the plans have been postponed indefinitely, with promoters claiming that there is 'insufficient time' to stage the event despite announcing it last month.
Barcelona returned to action on Wednesday, thrashing Olympiacos 6-1 in the Champions League.
There was controversy surrounding the result, as Olympiacos midfielder Santiago Hezze received a second yellow card for a foul on Marc Casado despite appearing to make no meaningful contact with the Barcelona midfielder.
Shortly after the second half, Yamal converted a penalty to make it 3-1 and score his third goal of the season.
The 18-year-old's season thus far has been disrupted by a persistent groin injury which has caused him to miss five matches.
The injury, described as 'pubic discomfort', was initially suffered on international duty with Spain after Yamal started both of their World Cup qualifiers.
Barca boss Hansi Flick claimed that Yamal was already carrying a minor injury and had to take painkillers to play, adding: "This [from Spain] is not taking care of players."
According to Catalunya Radio, Barca sporting director Deco organised a meeting between Yamal and his representatives, who are led by superagent Jorge Mendes.
It is claimed that Barca have held 'internal concerns regarding the management of Yamal'.
The meeting is described as a 'support visit', with the same outlet noting that 'the coexistence of the Lamine phenomenon with Barca's competitive reality has generated some uncomfortable situations in recent months' without reference to what exactly those situations are.
Yamal is expected to line up from the start against Real on Sunday amid the continued injury absences of Robert Lewandowski in attack.