Lamine Yamal sets Barcelona Champions League final target

Lamine Yamal believes Barcelona can learn from their recent Champions League disappointments and challenge for a place in this season’s final in Madrid.

The teenage forward acknowledged that Barcelona’s young squad is still developing, particularly after its 2025 semi-final defeat against Inter Milan. He feels those difficult moments can help the team make better decisions when the pressure rises.

“We’re a young team; there are decisions that are made in a second and, when you’re 20, or when you’re 30, you don’t make them the same way,” Yamal told L’Equipe.

“We’re a young team that can still progress,” he added.

Yamal also praised the atmosphere inside the dressing room, saying Barcelona’s academy graduates have helped new arrivals settle quickly. “We are lucky that many of us have left the quarry, we have lived together; we have learned the same football. Even with the most ‘elder’, like Rapha, we are like brothers.”

The winger has also set demanding personal goals. “If last season I did 200 dribbles, this season I will try to do 300. If I scored 20 goals, I will try to score 30,” he said.

His collective ambition is even clearer: “Now it is up to us to lift this trophy.” Yamal added: “We all want to be in Madrid to play the Champions League final.”