Cuenca, who is now technical director of the Aitana Bonmati campus at Barca, has told Mundo Deportivo of how he was swept up in the Yamal hype: “Well, I have a very interesting anecdote. If you want, I can share it. Since we’re here. I was at home, and my nephew kept talking about Lamine Yamal because he heard about him at school, and my daughter too. I hadn’t seen him play yet, and it happens a lot that people say many young players are coming up, and they make all these comparisons between one and another, but I didn’t pay much attention. We’ve all been compared to stars, and in the end, some make it further than others.
“In Lamine Yamal’s case, I spoke with Xavi to go see a Barca training session. Xavi opened the doors for me, and I went to watch him. I said: ‘Okay, this is something else’. The comparisons are fair. He’s a very good player with a lot of potential.” At just sixteen years old, what he’s doing, what he did in the Euros with Spain, there’s not much more to say. Now what’s left for him is to enjoy, keep progressing, and, above all, for Barça to take care of him, keep him, and we’ll see what happens in a few years.”