‘Alarm bells are ringing’ – Becker’s stark warning to Spanish-Moroccan prodigy Lamine Yamal

Boris Becker has issued a candid warning to Barcelona’s prodigious forward Lamine Yamal, urging the teenage sensation to manage his career carefully amid his meteoric rise in world football.

Speaking to TalkSport, the German tennis great drew parallels between his own story and that of the Spanish star, saying his “alarm bells are ringing” when he looks at Yamal’s rapid ascent.

Yamal, born in Spain to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, is widely regarded as the most exciting young player in Europe.

He made his first-team debut for Barcelona on April 29, 2023, at just 15 years, nine months and 16 days – becoming the youngest player to appear for the club.

At 17, he lifted the European Championship with Spain, and at 18 this week, he finished second behind Ousmane Dembélé in the Ballon d’Or voting, underlining his extraordinary trajectory.

Becker, who still holds the record as the youngest man to win Wimbledon after his 1985 triumph aged 17, said Yamal’s success reminds him of his own early stardom.

“My alarm bells are ringing for me,” Becker said. “Lamine is extraordinary, he’s winning everything and is the best young talent in the world, but he inevitably reminds me of 17-year-old Boris Becker.”

The six-time Grand Slam winner stressed the importance of maintaining balance off the pitch. “I advise him to choose his friends carefully, trust his family and build a safety net so that, when his career ends, he doesn’t make the usual mistakes,” he explained.

“We’ll see what happens. If I return to the show in 10 or 15 years, we’ll probably talk about Lamine again and how he’s done.”

Becker’s remarks come as Yamal continues to break age-related records for Barcelona and Spain, with expectations around him soaring at a level rarely seen before.