It already happened with Messi: Yamal's rare privilege at La Masia puts him on the path to the legends

"He did not commit any harmful act"

Coaches at Barcelona's La Masia academy played a role in developing the talent of Lamine Yamal, Barça's current star.

Lamine Yamal continues to shine for Barcelona, where the rising talent stands as one of the leading candidates to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

The documentary "Revolution 304" reveals how La Masia set about nurturing the winger, and how that approach fed his meteoric rise.

Xavi Martin, the academy's former director, said: "Lamine Yamal joined Barcelona at the age of seven, coming from La Torreta, and at the age of twelve he moved to live permanently at La Masia. There was no other boy his age there, nor any other child from Catalonia. That was an extremely great privilege."

It was an unprecedented step. Yamal was the only local youngster granted full residence at the academy.

Martin explained the thinking behind it: "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 sleeping early, which were decisive factors in making this decision."

His rare maturity and intelligence made an immediate impression. Martin added: "Lamine was a mature and responsible child for his age. As far as we know, he never did anything harmful, although I think he is a very intelligent boy, and had he done so we would not have noticed."

He continued: "It is much like his performance on the pitch, there are things he does without us realising."

That innate brilliance drew comparisons with the club's greatest icon. "This is something that already happened with Leo Messi," Martin noted, cementing Yamal's path from a seven-year-old prodigy to a cornerstone of Barcelona.