Mystery solved as Barca wonderkid vanished for nine minutes in Champions League
Lamine Yamal made Champions League history for Barcelona on Wednesday, but his big night was interrupted by a call of nature.
Yamal became the youngest player ever to start a Champions League game when Barca boss Xavi Hernandez selected him against Porto at the age of 16 years and 83 days. The exciting winger officially played 80 minutes of the match, which Barca won 1-0 in Portugal, but he was actually only on the pitch for 71 of those.
That is because he disappeared down the tunnel nine minutes before he was replaced by Marcos Alonso. Asked about the bizarre situation after the game, Xavi explained that the teenager had asked to come off to use the facilities.
"Lamine Yamal was unwell,” he explained. “He had an illness, he had been telling me for a while that his stomach hurt. I took advantage of a break to tell him to be quick and go to the toilet, but in the end they told me that he wouldn't be able to get back on the pitch."
Barcelona played those nine minutes with 10 men but managed to hold on for a second successive win in Group H. Ferran Torres’ goal in first-half stoppage time proved enough for Xavi’s side, but it was a hard-fought win.
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Marc-Andre ter Stegen was busy in goal while Joao Cancelo also survived a strong appeal for a handball penalty late on. Barca lost Gavi to a second yellow card late on and also had to replace Robert Lewandowski in the first half due to injury.
Despite the strange ending to his night, it was still an historic one for Yamal. He took the record off Celestine Babayaro, who was just three days older in 1994 when he started a game for Anderlecht.
Lamine Yamal made Champions League history for Barcelona (DAX Images/Getty Images)The Barcelona wonderkid is, remarkably, only the second youngest player ever to feature in the Champions League for any club. The outright record still belongs to Youssoufa Moukoko, who was just 16 years and 18 days old when he played for Borussia Dortmund in December 2020.
Yamal’s Champions League breakthrough comes days after he signed a new three-year contract with his boyhood club. In classic Barcelona style, his deal includes a €1billion (£870m) release clause, in line with fellow star youngsters Pedri and Gavi.
He was chased by other major European clubs but his agent Jorge Mendes agreed to keep the winger at Barca. His breakthrough has been clear this season, with another record coming in August when he became the club’s youngest starter in La Liga, playing against Cadiz at 16 years and 38 days old.
His Champions League bow saw him surpass Ansu Fati as Barcelona’s youngest starter in the competition. Fati, who is now on loan at Brighton, was 16 years and 321 days old when he made his debut against Borussia Dortmund in September 2019.
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