Robert Lewandowski explains ‘biggest challenge’ for Lamine Yamal and key difference with today’s young players

Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski has admitted that seeing Lamine Yamal for the first time was an experience unlike any other he has had in the match. The 17-year-old European champion has already achieved more than most people dream of and continues to amaze every week.

Lewandowski, who at 36 is the runaway leader in the Pichichi race in Spain, noted that longevity will be the most difficult challenge for the Spanish star.

“Lamine Yamal, it was the first time in my career that I looked at someone and thought: wow, he has something special,” he told Rio Ferdinand Presents.

“It was different with Musiala, you could see that he had something. I think it's different now for the young players too. The most difficult thing for Lamine Yamal will be to maintain his level in the top ten to fifteen years, to remain at the same level until he is 28 to 29. I think nowadays, with the demands of the game, it is very difficult for a player to play at the top for more than ten years.”

The teenage superstar may have entered the game at a time when the physical demands of the game are higher than ever. Mentally, the demands of the modern game have also increased, but in the locker room, Lewandowski explained that a lot has also changed in recent years.

“I try to give him some advice, but now it's different. When I was young it was about getting stronger, and fifteen years ago the older players would shout at you and challenge you. And you went out on the field, you went out so motivated, and you couldn't control anything because you were too motivated.”

“Now I think the young players don't really like it when someone shouts at them. It has changed. But not only in football, in life, at work, young people don't like it that much. Not to say you can't talk loudly at them, but you can't yell at them all the time. So you have to change, you have to find the balance now.”

One of the most difficult qualities to quantify and appreciate outside the locker room is leadership and personality, something that is seen time and time again and makes all the difference during adversity. Lewandowski himself mentioned earlier in the interview that the human side of the game is also one of the biggest changes in Pep Guardiola.