🚨🎙️| Albert Puig reveals how he signed Lamine Yamal.
"Lamine Yamal was at La Torreta, not in Rocafonda—he only went to Rocafonda on weekends because his dad was there."
"Anyway, Lamine Yamal had already gone on a trial with Espanyol. They had noticed him before. Then, two key figures at La Torreta appeared. The president, Rafa Rodriguez and Juan Gascon. Also the scout, Isidre Gil, absolute legend. If i’m not mistaken, he also scouted Marc Casado and many others. So, Isidre Gil goes to La Torreta’s playground, and there in the bar he asks if they have any good players. And Gascon answers; "Look, there’s a little dark-skinned kid who’s really good." Talking about the guy [Lamine Yamal] Espanyol had scouted. The next day they had a match and they won 6-0. He said; "Well, this kid has to play for Barça."
"Oscar [also a scout] went to watch a game of him, but unfortunately, he was not there. He was already in his home country with his father for two weeks. So Oscar immediately sent a email saying, "This is the player we saw with Isidre. He’s very good—but has left the country, so we have to contact La Torreta quickly and get for a trial as soon as possible, and also be aware that Espanyol is after him. Plus, La Torreta could sign partnership with Espanyol."
"Perfect, La Torreta is contacted. Then Lamine Yamal came for a trial. A funny detail: Juan Gascon told him a thousand times to not forget anything, but of course, what happens? He forgets his boots.🤣 Well, we are talking about a 6 years-old kid. And obviously we lent a pair of boots."
"He had the training session with them and in the last 30 minutes, they played a match. Even though Lamine was a year younger."
"Despite being one or even two years younger than others, he stands out incredibly. And, obviously, since I was there, you can imagine who made the decision. From that moment, we told him to keep coming back, and we formally notified them that we wanted him."
After that, a meeting took place between the president and Juan Gascón. They sat down with him and his family at La Torreta. They told them, "You have an offer from Espanyol and an offer from Barça—what do you want to do?" The parents took their time thinking about it. Finally, the scout suggested, "Maybe it’s easier to ask the kid himself. At the end of the day, even if he’s young, he’s the one who should decide."
"And Lamine Yamal said he wanted to go to Barcelona, mainly because of how well he was treated."❤️‍🩹
"One of the key details. At Barça, they provided him with all the training gear. These are small things that might not seem like much, but as I always say, the little details matter—things like taxis, all those extra touches, they make a difference."
"They told me, "No one has ever treated us the way you did." That doesn’t mean Espanyol doesn’t treat people well, but we treated them better. And from that moment, the kid kept coming, and around April, we called the mother and the kid, and they confirmed that they wanted to stay at Barça. Both sides agreed."
"From that moment on, the child never played for La Torreta again. He went away with his father for a few months on vacation to his home country. Then, in the next season, 2014/15, he officially joined Barça in September."
[@Yamal_Xtra via @JijantesFC]
"Lamine Yamal was at La Torreta, not in Rocafonda—he only went to Rocafonda on weekends because his dad was there."
"Anyway, Lamine Yamal had already gone on a trial with Espanyol. They had noticed him before. Then, two key figures at La Torreta appeared. The president, Rafa Rodriguez and Juan Gascon. Also the scout, Isidre Gil, absolute legend. If i’m not mistaken, he also scouted Marc Casado and many others. So, Isidre Gil goes to La Torreta’s playground, and there in the bar he asks if they have any good players. And Gascon answers; "Look, there’s a little dark-skinned kid who’s really good." Talking about the guy [Lamine Yamal] Espanyol had scouted. The next day they had a match and they won 6-0. He said; "Well, this kid has to play for Barça."
"Oscar [also a scout] went to watch a game of him, but unfortunately, he was not there. He was already in his home country with his father for two weeks. So Oscar immediately sent a email saying, "This is the player we saw with Isidre. He’s very good—but has left the country, so we have to contact La Torreta quickly and get for a trial as soon as possible, and also be aware that Espanyol is after him. Plus, La Torreta could sign partnership with Espanyol."
"Perfect, La Torreta is contacted. Then Lamine Yamal came for a trial. A funny detail: Juan Gascon told him a thousand times to not forget anything, but of course, what happens? He forgets his boots.🤣 Well, we are talking about a 6 years-old kid. And obviously we lent a pair of boots."
"He had the training session with them and in the last 30 minutes, they played a match. Even though Lamine was a year younger."
"Despite being one or even two years younger than others, he stands out incredibly. And, obviously, since I was there, you can imagine who made the decision. From that moment, we told him to keep coming back, and we formally notified them that we wanted him."
After that, a meeting took place between the president and Juan Gascón. They sat down with him and his family at La Torreta. They told them, "You have an offer from Espanyol and an offer from Barça—what do you want to do?" The parents took their time thinking about it. Finally, the scout suggested, "Maybe it’s easier to ask the kid himself. At the end of the day, even if he’s young, he’s the one who should decide."
"And Lamine Yamal said he wanted to go to Barcelona, mainly because of how well he was treated."❤️‍🩹
"One of the key details. At Barça, they provided him with all the training gear. These are small things that might not seem like much, but as I always say, the little details matter—things like taxis, all those extra touches, they make a difference."
"They told me, "No one has ever treated us the way you did." That doesn’t mean Espanyol doesn’t treat people well, but we treated them better. And from that moment, the kid kept coming, and around April, we called the mother and the kid, and they confirmed that they wanted to stay at Barça. Both sides agreed."
"From that moment on, the child never played for La Torreta again. He went away with his father for a few months on vacation to his home country. Then, in the next season, 2014/15, he officially joined Barça in September."
[@Yamal_Xtra via @JijantesFC]
