After the final whistle in Sunday’s 2-1 painful defeat in El Clasico, Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal went to shake hands with Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal.
The two are Spain team-mates. They shared the right flank during last year’s European Championship victory — and should be partners again in next summer’s World Cup.
Carvajal didn’t want to shake hands. Instead, he had a message for his 18-year-old international colleague.
“You speak too much, too much,” the 33-year-old said, as he made a matching gesture with his hands.
A melee started to form, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois jumping in to reproach Yamal. Eduardo Camavinga tried to separate him from the tension, before his Barca team-mate Marc Casado came across to lead him away from the ambush.
Yamal was on his way down to the dressing room when Vinicius Junior turned up to have his say as well. Barca’s No 10 urged the Brazilian to speak inside the tunnel. Then Raphinha stepped in to put the brakes on — though the four members of Madrid staff around Vinicius Jr had better luck.
It all cooled down as Yamal eventually found his way down the tunnel. But at this point, it was pretty clear how much of an effect the teenager had made inside Real Madrid’s dressing room in the build-up.
Let’s call it trash talk, let’s call it banter, but Yamal’s words earlier last week caused such a stir at the Santiago Bernabeu that it would not come as a surprise if someone told us now that Xabi Alonso had plastered the walls with them for extra motivation.
The big problem for Yamal and Barca was that it all backfired. The star winger looked dispossessed of his natural confidence in a disappointing display that raises questions for him and for his club.
It all started when, on Thursday, Yamal attended a live show of the Kings League — a seven-a-side football competition organised by Barcelona legend Gerard Pique, in which Yamal owns a club. It’s a jokey, informal setting — one that lives online and looks to hype things up.
During the livestream, Yamal joked along that Madrid were “moaners and robbers” (having been asked whether they did those things). Later, he was asked whether he would score at the Bernabeu.
“I already have,” he replied. “Last time I went there… what was it…? 4-0, I think,” he added, feigning surprise. Then, on the eve of the game, he posted photos on Instagram of angry Madrid fans reacting to his goal at the Bernabeu in that match last October.
It was all acting, a bit of fun. But it clearly backfired — and criticism came from his own fans, too.
A large share of Barcelona supporters were unimpressed by his bragging, the showing off, the arrogance, regardless of the context. This has always been part of Yamal, a daring teenager who loves to tease and bug his opponents. Even by those standards, however, many felt he had crossed a line.
Vinicius Jr is held back after the final whistle on Sunday (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The situation actually exposes a brutal reality in Barcelona. It seems there is no individual within the club in a position to question him, or offer the kind of strict guidance that would influence his choices.
Yamal has grown into by far the biggest figure at Barca, from a football and commercial perspective. That status was established when he became their top earner with the new deal he signed in August, just over two years on from his senior debut at age 15 in April 2023.
The criticism coming from their own fans now Barca puts in front of a mirror with all of this. There are questions for them, too, but it’s far from easy to deal with.
Is it legitimate to ask Yamal for bland behaviour off the pitch, when he is constantly demanded to be extraordinary on it?
Can you ask him to be pretentious enough to be convinced that he’s capable of dribbling past three opponents, and then suddenly switch to a low profile?
It tends not to work both ways. Yamal is a creative genius but most importantly, he is just 18. He is still learning.
Lamine Yamal struggled against Real Madrid (David Ramos/Getty Images)
There is also the factor of the result here. The 2-1 defeat leaves Barca five points behind their rivals with 10 matches played. It frames this in a different context. What if Yamal had scored a stunning strike to settle the contest?
He was not at his best on Sunday, perhaps even quite poor.
With Hansi Flick suspended for the match after his red card against Girona last weekend, his assistant Marcus Sorg was in charge on the sidelines and spoke to reporters after the game.
“Today, it was not easy for him,” he said when asked about Yamal. “He is also learning to deal with the spectators, whistling and booing. But it is normal. He is still very motivated.
“Madrid defended well, we have to accept it. Sometimes the defence does a good job.”
There are also reasons to believe Yamal is not quite fully fit. The groin injury he had been suffering from is not a simple one. According to club sources, it is a problem that he will need to learn how to manage, because pain can keep reappearing.
Perhaps that had a bearing on a display in which he touched the ball 79 times but did not shoot on target, and lost possession on 22 occasions.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong defended his team-mate in the mixed zone after the game — and pointed the finger at Carvajal over his gestures towards him.
“If you are Lamine’s team-mate (with Spain), you know him, and you believe he shouldn’t make those comments, you can call him instead of doing that on the pitch.
“Making gestures like that on the pitch, it’s more of the same. You create something like what we are talking about now. It is all very exaggerated. I can understand Madrid getting angry, as they see a quote from Lamine, but I don’t think it was so big. I don’t think it’s a problem.
“There is no need to make ‘speak too much’ gestures in front of the whole stadium. This is just to add fuel to the fire.”
That fire will keep burning across Madrid and Barcelona. Yamal had to learn the hard way what it means to be in the spotlight.
But this is also going to be a defining moment in the new Clasico rivalry — one that will keep building, leaving more scores to settle.
