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Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has hailed his former manager Xavi Hernandez following his side's LaLiga triumph. The Catalan giants were crowned champions of Spain after their 2-0 triumph against local rivals Espanyol on Thursday, with two games in hand.
Lamine Yamal has played a pivotal role in helping Hansi Flick's side secure the LaLiga title this season. He scored a spectacular goal against Espanyol to open the scoring. After clinching the league title, he credited former manager Xavi Hernandez for the side's success this season. He highlighted how the former Blaugrana boss trusted young players like him and brought them to the first team.
Yamal said, as quoted by Foot Mercato:
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"We needed fresh blood. Change. So yes, we are very grateful to Xavi. Without him, none of this would have happened because he brought in a lot of young players. We have to thank him. He is a coach who gave us a breath of fresh air."
It was Xavi Hernandez who gave Yamal his Barcelona debut at the age of just 15 years and 291 days. He became the youngest player in the club's history and has already made 104 senior appearances for the Catalan giants.
Yamal has been pivotal behind Barca's success this season, having scored 17 goals and provided 25 assists in 53 appearances across competitions. Aged only 17, he has already won four trophies with his boyhood club, including two LaLiga titles.
Former Barcelona star asks club to snub move for Luis Diaz and sign Manchester United man instead
Former Barcelona attacker Bojan Krkic has urged the Catalan club not to pursue a move for Liverpool star Luis Diaz. He named Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford as a better option for the Blaugrana.
Krkic insisted that Luis Diaz is a fantastic player but lacks consistency and often suffers a dip in form. He claimed that Rashford would be a better option as he is more comfortable while playing as a number nine as well as on the left flank. He told Spanish outlet Cadena SER:
"Luis Diaz is a great player but he lacks consistency in performance. If I were at Barca, I wouldn't sign him. He's a player who works wonders for you and then disappears for three games. Or he gives you a brutal half-hour and disappears.. I'd sign [Marcus] Rashford before Luis Diaz. He gives me the option to play as a number nine."
Luis Diaz has been linked with Barcelona for a while now and has enjoyed a brilliant season with Liverpool this time out. He has scored 17 goals and provided eight assists in 48 appearances across competitions this season for the Premier League champions.
Meanwhile, Rashford was also strongly linked with Barcelona in January but ended up joining Aston Villa on loan. He has made 17 appearances for Unai Emery's side, contributing four goals and six assists.
