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Former scout Albert Puig has revealed that Lamine Yamal had a trial at Espanyol before Barcelona spotted him. He stated that the Spaniard impressed despite forgetting his boots while going for training.
Puig said to Jijantes FC that Barcelona pushed to sign the 6-year-old after his trial at Espanyol after he was spotted by their scouts. He added that CF La Torreta were open to letting him leave and he impressed in the next match despite being the youngest on the pitch. He said via BarcaTimes:
"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.
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"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'."
Puig added:
"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-year-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."
Yamal went away for a vacation after the trial and went on to join Barcelona in the 2014-15 season.
Why Lamine Yamal picked Barcelona over Espanyol
Lamine Yamal had an offer from Barcelona and Espanyol after his trial but the Spaniard ended up picking the Catalan giants. He was given all the training gear by the club and that helped him make his decision.
Puig added that Yamal and his family liked the way they were treated by Barcelona. He never played for La Torreta and joined LaMasia after the decision was made.
Yamal made his debut as a 15-year-old and became the fourth youngest to play for the club's first team. He was a year younger than Ansu Fati, who was the youngest player to play for the Catalan side in this century. Yamal has made 82 senior appearances for the Barca, scoring 18 goals and providing 21 assists.
