“His phone was hacked, if not I don’t understand” - Lamine Yamal pokes fun as Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez posts photo with girlfriend after piracy row
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal appeared to make fun of his teammate Fermin Lopez after the midfielder appeared to share an image with his girlfriend on Instagram on August 19. The Spaniard has been on a summer break after a successful Euro 2024 and Olympics campaign and took to Instagram to share a series of photos from his vacation.
One of the images in the post included an intimate image with Lopez's supposed girlfriend. The caption read (in Greek):
"little vacation" (via Google Translate).
Some of Lopez's teammates from the Spain national team, including Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Alejandro Balde commented on the post, apparently surprised by the midfielder's photos.
One of the comments also came from former Barcelona loan player Joao Felix, who wrote:
"You're on time to delete."
In response to Felix's comment, Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal joined in the banter to tease his teammate and wrote:
"His phone was hacked and if not I don't understand anything."
Fermin Lopez's post came shortly after the Spaniard faced some controversy for streaming Barca's La Liga opener against Valencia on August 17 on an illegal site while being away on vacation. The Spanish youngster shared a screenshot of the game from an alleged pirated site on Instagram, but later deleted the same amid backlash.
Fermin Lopez is expected to return to training with the Blaugrana on Tuesday, with the team set to face Athletic Club in La Liga on Saturday (August 24).
Lamine Yamal bags an assist in Barcelona's La Liga opener against Valencia
While his teammate Fermin Lopez remains on vacation, Lamine Yamal seems to be back in form for Barcelona. The youngster featured in Hansi Flick's starting line-up to face Valencia in their La Liga opening game and bagged a sensational assist in the Blaugrana's 2-1 win.
Valencia's Hugo Duro scored the opening goal of the game in the 44th minute, making it 1-0 for his team ahead of half-time. However, Lamine Yamal reached the right side of the penalty box right on time, moments before the half-time whistle, to set up Barca's equalizer for Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker tapped in the shot just in time, leveling the score to 1-1.
In the 49th minute, Lewandowski once again stepped up to convert a penalty kick for Barcelona, giving them a 2-1 lead. Speaking to the media after the match, coach Hansi Flick also appreciated Lamine Yamal's performance in the game.
"He is a fantastic player. I was not surprised that he was applauded at the Mestalla. He is a great player and everyone likes a player like that. And therefore it is normal to be applauded," Flick said. (via GOAL)
The coach also indicated that he would be open to playing Yamal and Raphinha in different positions in the attack as they are versatile players.