"A privilege no one else received": documentary reveals the hidden secret behind Lamine Yamal's arrival at Barcelona

From La Torreta to the world stage

Lamine Yamal has long since outgrown description, and he proved it again at La Cartuja, confirming his status as Barcelona's most decisive player with one of the finest goals of his career against Real Betis. Now a new documentary has lifted the lid on how the phenomenon from Rocafonda was built.

"Revolution 304", screened by 3Cat, goes deep into the behind-the-scenes story of how Barcelona handled their precious jewel. "Sport" published extracts, including exclusive testimony from former La Masia academy director Xavi Martin.

Martin's revelation was startling. Lamine's journey with the Blaugrana started earlier than almost anyone realised. "Lamine Yamal joined Barcelona at the age of seven, coming from La Torreta, and at twelve he moved to live full-time at La Masia. There was no other boy of his age there, nor any other child from Catalonia. That was a very big privilege."

By every measure, the case was exceptional. Lamine was the only footballer living at La Masia whose parents were based in Catalonia, and that pushed the club's management towards a historic decision.

"It is clear that his family circumstances and his life influenced our decision to bring him into (La Masia), and there were aspects relating to his habits, such as nutrition, completing his schoolwork, going to training and going to bed early, which were decisive factors in taking that decision," Martin added.

The former official makes no attempt to hide his admiration for the youngster's character in those early days. He was different from everyone else. "Lamine was a mature, responsible and grateful child for his age. As far as we know, he never did anything harmful, although I think he is an extremely clever boy, and had he done so we would not have noticed. It is like on the pitch, there are things he does that we don't realise."

One comparison summed up the scale of what Martin was watching. "This is something that already happened with Leo Messi," he said, pointing to the natural path geniuses follow. Three years have passed since Lamine first pulled on the first-team shirt. The roots run back further, to a seven-year-old boy Barcelona picked out as their greatest privilege.