Ben Pawlowski
AS one of the best football players in the world, 17-year-old Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal is no stranger to posing for photos with fans.
What he might be less accustomed to, however, is being asked to take photos of others – as happened whilst the youngster was eating out in Barcelona last week.
In a video widely shared on social media, a group of female restaurant-goers politely asked Yamal to take a photo, unaware that their photographer was one of the hottest prospects in world football.
The silky winger obliged, seemingly more than happy to remain anonymous.
He even cheekily gave a fake name in order to maintain his low profile.
One of the women, wearing a black dress and leather jacket, asked in English: “Excuse me, what is your name?”
“Ryan,” Yamal replied. “And in reality?”, asked the woman again, to which Yamal insisted he was called Ryan.
The group of women then got into position as Yamal carried out his photographer duties before handing the phone back.
The act of humility came just days after Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League following a thrilling 7-6 aggregate defeat by Inter Milan in a two-legged affair widely described as one of the best in the competition’s history.
The defeat means Inter will face PSG in the final of Europe’s most coveted competition, and represents a blow for Yamal’s hopes of becoming the youngest ever winner of the Ballon D’or, the annual award crowning the best player in world football. He is currently 7/2 with the bookies to take home the prestigious accolade.
However, his side soon made amends by beating arch rivals Real Madrid 4-3 in a pulsating edition of El Clasico on Sunday.
The game was the final derby for Real’s legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is set to be replaced by outgoing Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso over the summer.
The game started in supersonic fashion for Real who silenced the Montjuic crowd with two early goals, both scored by French superstar Kylian Mbappe.
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However, Barcelona responded with four goals before half time, including a brace from Raphinha and a sumptuous, curling strike from Yamal.
Mbappe’s third goal, and his third hat-trick for Los Blancos, was not enough to inspire a comeback, leaving Barcelona on the brink of ending Real’s defence of the La Liga title and returning the trophy to Catalunya.
Hansi Flick’s side now have a seven-point advantage over the champions with just three matches remaining.
