Christian Tello believes Lamine Yamal would have struggled to secure a regular starting place for Barcelona in 2012 because of the quality of the attacking players already established at the club.
Tello, who recently retired from football, made the comments in an interview with Spanish newspaper Sport after being asked how Yamal would have fared had he been part of Barcelona’s squad at that time.
“Starting? I don’t think so. It would have been difficult for him to get in,” Tello said. “I think he would have reached the level he has and shown what he is showing, but it would have been complicated.”
The former Barcelona player pointed to the competition Yamal would have faced in the first-team attack.
“As I said, we are talking about Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Villa, Messi and Neymar… It is extremely difficult for any player coming through the academy to make a place for himself among them in the first team,” he added.
Tello, a graduate of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, also said it is now easier for teenagers to break into the senior squad than it was during his time at the club.
“Yes, it is more exceptional. The first team now includes a very large number of young players, so it becomes easier for them to break through,” he said.
“In our time, because there were many more players who were well established in the top flight, it was harder for us to get into the team. That is why I think it had greater value then – the players in the first team were very experienced.”
Yamal has become a prominent figure for Barcelona despite his age, but Tello’s assessment centres on the strength of the group that occupied the club’s forward positions in 2012.
Tello also praised Barcelona under manager Hansi Flick and said he was impressed by the team’s attacking approach.
“I like it a lot,” he said. “As we said before, because of the players he has up front, he likes to have a lot of speed out wide. Now they are a bulldozer. We hope they can continue like this for a long time.”
“They are in a very good and positive rhythm, and they can do great things this year,” Tello added.
Tello is now focused on life after professional football. According to Sport, he opened a car showroom called “CT37 Edit Cars” in the Catalan city of Terrassa three years ago.
