BARCELONA: Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal sparked controversy with his regal goal celebration last week when he pretended to crown himself after scoring against Mallorca, but manager Hansi Flick on Friday brushed off criticism of his 18-year-old winger.
The gesture appeared to anoint Yamal as the new king after netting his first goal of the season in Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Mallorca, with the teenager having inherited the iconic number 10 shirt worn by many club greats in the past.
Yamal has found himself under scrutiny recently, with a Spanish disability rights group threatening legal action over reports of people with dwarfism being hired as entertainment at his 18th birthday party last month.
But Flick remains unfazed by the external noise surrounding his player.
“I don’t care what other people say about my team. Lamine is only 18 years old but he’s a fantastic footballer,” Flick told reporters ahead of Saturday’s game away at Levante.
“I will help him to grow in the right way. But what I can see here, his behavior is very good.”
Robert Lewandowski is expected to return to the squad after the veteran striker, who turned 37 on Thursday, missed the LaLiga opener with an injury.
However, he will be competing with Ferran Torres to lead the line.
“We will see, we have some thoughts about how the match is going and what we can change, but at the end we have different options at number nine,” Flick said.
“Ferran scored a goal (against Mallorca) and it’s the best argument to play again. We will try and include Robert if it’s possible.”
Flick also suggested England forward Marcus Rashford could be deployed as a striker after he made his Barca debut as a second-half substitute.
“Rashford gives us some more options. He’s more familiar with the number 11 (position on the wing) but his strengths, his first touch, his speed — he is really helpful for our game,” Flick said.
“We can enjoy a fantastic Marcus Rashford this season, 100 percent.”
Flick said he hopes to have all players registered next week as Barcelona navigate LaLiga’s financial constraints.
The German also insisted on retaining midfielder Fermin Lopez, who had eight goals and 10 assists last season, amid transfer speculation.
“I don’t want to lose any players now because I think it will be a tough season and we need this quality from Fermin. He was doing really good last season and also when we started the new season,” Flick said.
“I’m happy with him, the players — I want to keep everyone here because the options we have now are very good.”