Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, Spain
Josh Lawless
Lamine Yamal has explained the bizarre training method he participated in when he was younger.
The 17-year-old Barcelona sensational has quickly grown into one of the most exciting youngsters in world football and picked up the Euro 2024 Young Player of the Tournament award after a series of scintillating displays for Spain.
Yamal is already being tipped as the heir to Lionel Messi's throne and someone who has the potential to dominate world football for years to come.
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Even at his age Yamal has been completely unfazed by anyone he has come up against on the pitch.
And incredibly, Spain's youngest ever player developed that fearless mentality from playing with dogs - not humans - when he was growing up.
In a new interview, Yamal claimed playing against a hound is "the hardest thing" and it helped become the player he is.
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"I'm a guy who doesn't like being at a higher level, like what happened to me in youth categories, because I don't like to relax or take it easy," he told L'Equipe, as per beIN Sports.
" I always prefer it to be more difficult. I’d rather not play than play everything and have it be too easy.
"I always went everywhere with my ball. I used to carry it in a bag to school. In class, I used to hide it because the teacher wouldn't let me have it.
"I always played with my dogs because my father said they wouldn’t bite, so I’d run with them. Playing against a dog is the hardest thing you can do."
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Yamal is one of the leading contenders for France Football's Kopa Trophy award, with the winner decided by former Ballon d'Or winners.
Messi, with his eight gongs, has already talked up Yamal - who has received plenty of comparisons to the Argentina legend.
But while Yamal is grateful, he is focused on creating his own path.
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He added: “The most important thing is not to notice. Being compared to the best in history means that you are doing things right. It doesn’t bother me, but I try to be me.”