Former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has advised caution regarding the rising expectations surrounding 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who has been drawing comparisons to Lionel Messi due to his impressive performances.
Henry expressed concern that such pressure could adversely affect the young Spanish-Moroccan’s development.
Drawing from past experiences, Henry referenced Bojan Krkic, a former Barcelona prodigy who faced similar early acclaim but struggled under the weight of expectations.
Bojan debuted for Barcelona at 17 but later opened up about his battles with anxiety, which impacted his career trajectory.
Henry highlighted Bojan’s challenges, noting that rapid fame can lead to significant mental health struggles for young athletes.
Henry emphasized the importance of allowing young talents like Yamal to develop without undue pressure, cautioning against labeling them as the next Messi.
He said on CBS: “I’ve been through this before. Not me, but I’ve seen someone come on the scene like that: Bojan Krkic. I don’t know if you remember and I invite you to see him because I don’t have time to explain everything to you.
“I invite you to go see him and watch his documentary and what can happen to you when you’re young and you don’t know how to deal with everything that’s happening to you so quickly. That’s why, you know, I think Bojan got lost in terms of… anxiety and not wanting to be seen too much.
“That’s something that sometimes people don’t understand and don’t want to understand either. They see you there, you’re playing and they forget that he’s a kid who went from not being known to everyone thinking he’s good.
“I’m just saying that I’ve experienced that before and, by the way, I just want to congratulate Bojan because for him to come out and talk like that in the documentary and say what he said… especially how difficult it was for him to deal with all the extra pressure.
“He refused to go to the Euros when Spain won it for the first time. Watch the documentary, it’s a good way to understand what it’s like to be a star too early.”
Yamal has been instrumental in Barcelona’s recent successes, contributing 11 goals and 15 assists in 36 matches this season.
