Lamine Yamal fires back at Rafael van der Vaart after being branded 'annoying' by ex-Real Madrid star
Lamine Yamal brutally fired back at Rafael van der Vaart's comments with a genius celebration and Instagram comment after Spain's Nations League quarter-final win over the Netherlands.
The Euro 2024 winners beat Ronald Koeman's side on penalties after a 5-5 draw on aggregate over two legs, setting up a semi-final showdown with France on 5 June.
The second leg was 2-2 in normal time courtesy of a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and strikes from Memphis Depay and Ian Maatsen.
Yamal scored a stunning goal in extra time but a penalty from Xavi Simons forced spot-kicks, where La Roja emerged victorious despite their 17-year-old sensation missing from 12 yards.
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The Barcelona wonderkid has received so many plaudits for his incredible performances since bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, with Thierry Henry among those to hail his maturity after he scored 13 goals and registered 17 assists for Barca this season.
Yet former Real Madrid and Spurs midfielder Van der Vaart launched a surprise attack on the winger following the first leg, branding him "superficial", claiming he struggled against left-back Jorrel Hato and criticising how low he wore his shorts.
"These are things I notice: I see things that are starting to bother me a bit. Pants a little lower, not making much effort, gestures a little superficial," Van der Vaart said on NOS.
"That's when I think: if you're that young, you should be happy with every minute you play for Spain.
"No matter how good you are, at that age, you have to prove it every minute and in every game. But that doesn't change the fact that Hato simply had him in his pocket."
Yamal responds to Van der Vaart
After his sublime finish to make it 3-2, Yamal proceeded to pull his shorts down and mock Van der Vaart while he was mobbed by his teammates.
But Yamal wasn't finished there as he then elected to go after Van der Vaart in a viral post on Instagram. He shared a series of snaps from the game, with the caption: "Pants down, goal scored, missed penalty and in the semifinals… vamos, Spain”.
And deep into the carousel were screenshots of Van der Vaart looking irritated alongside Yamal's celebration.
Spain will take on France in the semi-final on June 5 after they also won on penalties at the Stade de France after drawing 2-2 on aggregate with Croatia.
Germany and Portugal will contest the other semi-final on 4 June at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Topics: Lamine Yamal, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Spain, Football
Josh Lawless