As a result of Real Madrid players being “fed up” with the Barca teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal’s Ping-Pong style jabs, tensions are going up before the Sunday El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu, according to the Spanish press.
The loudmouth 18-year-old has charged the rivalry back to the extreme level by accusing Madrid of “stealing and whining” just before the confrontation. Last season, Lamine single-handedly turned things around in the four straight Clásico wins, so after the last victory, he proudly said, “This year, they simply can’t beat us. We’ve shown that.” Barcelona’s.“MARCA reports that Madrid players feel insulted and tired of Yamal’s remarks and consider them “unexplainable” and disrespectful. They are said to be preparing to use his last words as fuel when they step onto the field on Sunday.
Madrid insiders have in fact highlighted the contradiction of Yamal charging by pointing that Barca are the ones being investigated in the Negreira refereeing scandal that talks about alleged payments to a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.
On the contrary, ex-Barça defender Gerard Piqué came to Yamal’s rescue, saying his remarks were nothing more than the long-established rivalry’s features. “They’ve been telling us that we steal, and we’ve been telling them,” he said. “Lamine is different-he’ll get it with time. But really, that’s just the spirit of the Clásico,” he added.
