[WATCH] Throwback: When Young Lamine Yamal was Sergio Ramos' El Clasico mascot

Seven years later the youngster now stars in each El Clasico

When Sergio Ramos’ Real Madrid took against the Catalan powerhouses in an El Clasico in 2016, the star of Barcelona’s junior programme Lamine Yamal escorted the great of Spain onto the Camp Nou pitch like a mascot.

Yamal, who is 16 years old, is becoming one of the most promising players in world football. He is the youngest player to have ever played for Spain’s senior squad or Barcelona’s senior squad, and he appears to be firmly established as a starter for the Catalan powerhouses.

He reportedly already signed a new deal with the Blaugrana that will keep him with the team until 2026, which has been already made public months ago.

When a new record number is announced—the club’s youngest goalscorer ever, at 16 and two months; the youngest Barcelona starter since the 1940s, at 15—Yamal makes sure those closest to him are made aware of what that total means.

His celebration in motion is starting to become recognisable: With his arms crossed, he formed a ‘0’ with his left thumb and index finger, pointed upward with his other three fingers, and then lifted all four fingers with his right hand. 3-0-4 is a message.

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It alludes to the postcode of Rocafonda, which is located inland and upward on the Maresme coast of Catalonia, near the edge of the city of Mataro.

He registered at La Torreta, a club farther inland and nearer Sheila’s workplace, so he was never formally a junior here. However, he is remembered as the young player who, starting at age four, displayed extraordinary talent and enthusiasm for Rocafonda’s promotion and the nearby concrete location.

Yassin, 18, who lived up in Rocafonda and is starting what he thinks will be a professional career, remembers that he would participate with older children. “Lamine was exceptional, capable of surpassing us even at a very young age,” claims Yassin.

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