Lamine Yamal 'living the dream' after record-breaking Spain debut
- Yamal became Spain's youngest-ever player when he debuted against Georgia
- 16-year-old winger then broke his country's goalscoring record later in the game
- Barcelona teammates Gavi & Ansu Fati had held the records
By Tom Gott
Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has admitted he is "living the dream" after his whirlwind season continued with a record-breaking outing for Spain on Friday.
Aged just 16 years and 57 days, Yamal came off the bench in Friday's 7-1 victory over Georgia to break Gavi's national appearance record by over an entire year, before grabbing a goal and becoming Spain's youngest-ever scorer in the process - a title previously held by Barcelona teammate Ansu Fati.
Yamal only made his debut in senior football back in April with a seven-minute cameo off the bench for Barcelona, but he has exploded on to the scene this season with three starts and two assists to his name.
"I’m living a dream right now, I’m very happy and I thank my teammates and the coach for giving me the confidence, and everyone who has helped me along my path," he told Teledeporte after the game.
Yamal also stressed his confidence that choosing to represent Spain over Morocco was the right decision.
"I am very satisfied with the decision and very happy," he added. "It is going to be a very long road with Spain and I hope we win many things together."
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Yamal is currently still on a youth contract at Barcelona and some fans have been sweating over his future as the teenager's deal is up at the end of the current campaign. Unsurprisingly, teams from across Europe have been looking at him over the past 12 months.
However, numerous reports suggest Yamal has already agreed to a new three-year deal - the maximum which can be offered to a player of his age - and it is simply a matter of time before he puts pen to paper.
Manager Xvi is keen to see Yamal's future secured as soon as possible, having recently admitted the teenager is the sort of player who can lead Barcelona for the next decade.
"What I do hope is that he spends many years here, because he is a footballer to define an era," the Barca manager said recently.
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