Barcelona teenager could be handed iconic number 10 jersey at the club next season - Reports

Barcelona's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal could don the iconic number 10 jersey for the Catalan giants from next season, according to reports from Catalunya Radio.

A few members of Barca's top brass are reportedly willing to give the legendary jersey to a top player at the club, with Yamal's name involved in the discussion as well. This group of members believes that the club could benefit financially from the decision.

Here is what Barca Universal tweeted on the matter (via Catalunya Radio):

There are people within Barça who want to give the number 10 to some player, they think they could benefit economically for that. The club's option is Lamine Yamal, although not everyone agrees due to the huge responsibility that the number representes for a 16-year old player.

However, others have expressed their disagreement with the proposal, citing that the number 10 will be a huge responsibility for any Blaugrana player, let alone a 16-year-old academy graduate.

The number 10 jersey at Barcelona has a rich and illustrious history, with footballing legends like Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona, Romario and most notably, Lionel Messi having donned it in the past at the club.

It was last worn by 21-year-old winger Ansu Fati, who had a similar rise to the top as Yamal back in 2019. However, the Spaniard has fallen out of favour at the club, currently plying his trade on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.

Yamal's rise to the Barca first team has been impressive. Since making his debut in April 2023 as a 15-year-old, he has quickly established himself an integral member of Xavi's squad.

This season, he has made 38 appearances for the club, switching roles between being the starting winger and the first super-sub off the bench. He has baggged six goals and seven assists already, repaying the faith that Xavi placed in him.

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Barcelona teenager nominated for UEFA Champions League Player of the Week award

Teenage defensive sensation Pau Cubarsi, another highly talented La Masia graduate, has been nominated for the UEFA Champions League player of the week award after his incredible outing against Napoli.

The 17-year-old put in a brilliant performance in his Champions League knockout debut. As the game kicked off, he became the youngest player to debut in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition at 17 years and 50 days old.

He kept one of the best strikers in Europe, Victor Osimhen, silent throughout the game, dominating his match-up on more than one occasion.

He completed 61 of his 68 passes (90% accuracy), completed nine accurate long balls, won all of his ground duels (3/3), aerial duels (3/3) and tackles (3/3), made five clearances and was not dribbled past once in the 90 minutes.

In the process, he became the first Barcelona player (per Opta) to complete 50+ passes, 100% of his tackles and make 5+ clearances since the 2003-04 season.