"He gonna be farming this award", "No Arda Guler?" - Fans react as Barcelona teenager wins La Liga U23 Player of the Season award
Fans took to social media to react after Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal won the La Liga U23 Player of the Season award. The 16-year-old has had a breakthrough season with Barca's first team and was a strong contender for the award after helping them finish in second place in the league behind Real Madrid.
It is hardly any surprise that Yamal won the award, especially for Barca fans, as they enjoyed watching the teenager shine on the big stages. Despite being quite young, he has been an important part of the club's first team, appearing in a stunning 50 games this season. He scored seven goals and provided 10 assists across competitions.
Fans took to social media to react to the Barcelona winger winning the award, with some excited about his future and others wondering how he beat other players to it:
"He gonna be farming this award," one fan said.
"Never in doubt. Congratulations 🎉" a fan was pleased.
"He also just won globe soccer emerging talent of the season," another added.
Others added:
"Arda Guler has more goals than this kid in just 4 starts lmao If Arda wasn't injured, he would've taken all the spotlight from yamal," a rival fan wasn't too pleased.
"As would have gone to Guler or Rodrygo . But Barca PR is unmatched," another rival fan questioned Yamal winning the award.
"No Arda Guler? He’s been cheated mmm," a third rival fan added.
"rodrygo, couto, nico, guti and savio all deserved it more from these nominees," another questioned the result.
"For his age he's good but when compared to other players under 23 he's not better than many of them. This is getting ridiculous because the Inconsistencies in giving these awards is so bluntly visible," a fan noted.
When former Barcelona manager rejected Lionel Messi's comparisons with Lamine Yamal
Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez notably rejected any comparisons between teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal and Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi. This came after the 16-year-old scored a beautiful curler to secure all three points against Mallorca during the season.
Speaking to the press afterward, Xavi warned against compliments from others who compared the winger to Messi. He said (via GOAL):
"Anyone will lose when compared to Messi. We're talking about the best player in the history of this sport, he should not be compared to others."
Xavi has now left Barcelona, and Yamal will be hoping that the next manager, likely Hansi Flick, will continue his development into superstardom.