‘He’s just a kid’ – Barcelona star explains role in helping Lamine Yamal flourish

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde has spoken about his relationship with Lamine Yamal, revealing that the teenager loves to play pranks as well as explaining the ways in which he has helped him become even better.

Kounde and Yamal share Barcelona’s right flank and the former considers them a “complementary” pair in terms of both attacking and defending.

The right-back, answering questions from reporters while on Nations League duty with France, revealed that he likes to understand from Yamal how he can help him be most effective.

But it goes the other way too, with Kounde regularly imparting defensive instructions.

“We talk to find out how I can improve certain aspects, like the runs that can open up space for him, even though he can handle two players on him,” Kounde said. “We’re quite complementary.

“Defensively, I talk a lot with him to correct certain details about his positioning. We understand each other very well on and off the pitch.

“People often forget that, even though we see him do exceptional things, he’s just a kid, a teenager, who loves to play pranks, and that’s fine, because I do too.”

Yamal, who will turn 18 this coming summer, has been one of Barcelona’s best players since the early stages of last season – he has broken numerous records already and has achieved far more than Lionel Messi ever did at his age – when he made the permanent breakthrough under former coach Xavi.

This campaign could yet end with Barcelona claiming both La Liga and Champions League titles. Yamal made his debut during the club’s last domestic triumph in 2022/23, aged just 15, but played only seven minutes as a substitute towards the end of the season.

The last time Barcelona won the Champions League back in 2015, he was only seven-years-old.

The Catalans are level on points with Real Madrid in La Liga, but lead the way due to a superior head-to-head record and have the added advantage of a game in hand. Meanwhile, next up in the Champions League is a two-legged quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund next month.