Lamine Yamal has said he’d welcome Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez “with open arms” at Barcelona next season.
Atlético have been angry at Barcelona’s pursuit of Argentina star Álvarez, with CEO Miguel Ángel Marín accusing Barça of “disrespecting” the club with their approach.
Álvarez confirmed last week that he would like to leave Atlético and although he didn’t name his favoured destination, sources have told ESPN that he would like to join Barça, while Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Real Madrid — who had a €150 million (£171m) bid turned down earlier this month — have also been interested.
“I’m not thinking about it too much, but I’d love it, because [Álvarez] is a great player,” Yamal told Cadena SER in an interview broadcast on Tuesday. “If he comes, we’ll welcome him with open arms… If I were him, I’d do it. We’ll be waiting for him if he wants to come. [I say] go for it.”
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Yamal, 18, is with Spain at the World Cup, with the squad flying from their base in Chattanooga to Los Angeles on Tuesday ahead of their round of 32 game with Austria.
The winger — playing at his first World Cup — was recovering from injury before the tournament, with coach Luis de la Fuente easing him into the team during the group stage.
“I’m learning,” Yamal said, when asked about his World Cup experience so far. “International football is different from club football. I’m gaining experience, and figuring out how to handle the return from injury… Now I feel great and I’m really looking forward to Thursday.”
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Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opening game, but then beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 and Uruguay 1-0 to progress as group winners.
“It’s true that everyone expected us to play better, but we faced different types of teams, none of them European,” Yamal said. “They were tough matches, especially the third one. There were a lot of stoppages. The game against Saudi Arabia was good, and the Cape Verde match was the opener.
“I don’t think we’ve played a really great match yet… Once we hit our stride — and we definitely will — we’ll be almost unstoppable.”
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Yamal, who was part of Spain’s winning team at Euro 2024, was asked which players and teams have impressed him so far.
“[Lionel] Messi, obviously,” he said. “Everyone knows who he is, but I didn’t expect that level. I’m liking [Vinícius Júnior] and [Ismael] Saibari, too. Those are the ones who stand out for me. I’m really liking Morocco. Ivory Coast too; I was really enjoying Japan, and Argentina, honestly, because of Messi… France have good players… I’ve liked Ecuador.”
