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Lamine Yamal draws inspiration from LeBron James and idol Neymar as Barcelona chase a Champions League comeback against Atletico Madrid after a 0-2 deficit.
Lamine Yamal celebrates during the Spanish La Liga game against Espanyol (Picture credit: AP)
Star Spain and Barcelona right-winger Lamine Yamal has said that LeBron James is one of the figures who can inspire him for the big clash against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, with Barcelona already trailing 0-2 after the first leg of the match.
Yamal changed his Instagram profile picture to an image of James celebrating with the NBA trophy after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 title triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
James’ Cavaliers had trailed 3-1 in the series before completing a historic comeback to lift the championship.
“He is one of the figures who can inspire me for this match. I will think about how he did it and hopefully it will work out the same for me,” Yamal said while speaking at a pre-match press conference.
Yamal spoke about another of his idols as well, Neymar, who inspired FC Barcelona’s historic Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Barcelona overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit in France with a brilliant 6-1 victory over PSG in the return leg at home to progress from the round of 16.
“I have watched (the 6-1 match) several times and I watched it live as well. Neymar is a player who was very important to me during my childhood. He is my idol and I will always be grateful to him for everything he has given to football,” Yamal said.
The teenager mentioned another of his idols as well, Neymar, hoping the 34-year-old earns a place in Brazil’s FIFA World Cup team. Neymar, playing for Santos, wasn’t included by coach Carlo Ancelotti in the latest Brazil team for the warm-up games.
“He inspires everyone. He is the type of player that you will pay a ticket to watch him play, the type of player you will watch a game again three days later just to see his moves,” Yamal said.
April 14, 2026, 3:16 PM IST
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