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Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has urged Barcelona star Lamine Yamal to 'surround himself with people who truly support him'
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Published 25/11/2025 at 16:34 GMT
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Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has dealt with a club v country row over his fitness as well as criticism over his personal life this season, but is expected to start for his side against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night. Yamal has now received words of advice from former tennis star Rafael Nadal, who has told him to be careful over who he keeps around him.
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Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has urged Barcelona star Lamine Yamal to "surround himself with people who truly support him."
Yamal is regarded as one of the most talented young players in world football and continues to impress at Barcelona.
Last season he scored 18 goals in 55 appearances for the Catalan club as the team won La Liga, but this season has proved to be a little more difficult.
While he has six goals already in the current campaign, he has found his season interrupted by a groin injury, which has also seen Barcelona and the Spanish national team disagree over how to handle his fitness and playing duties.
The 18-year-old has also come in for criticism for how his attitude is perceived, as well as his personal life.
Yamal is set to feature for Barcelona at Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
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Speaking to Movistar, Nadal offered his own advice to the youngster about how to protect himself, and said he should be careful about who he keeps around him.
The former tennis player is famously a Real Madrid fan - though his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for Barcelona in the 1990s - but nevertheless gave some guidance to the Catalan star.
"He should surround himself with people who truly support him and who are smart enough to listen to what successful people prefer to ignore," Nadal said.
"He should surround himself with people who sincerely want him to be happy, and he should know how to listen to them, which is not always easy when you are such a famous personality, in the spotlight.
"It’s important for him, given his young age. He must surround himself with people who will benefit him, whether it is his family or a team. Everyone’s reality is different, and everyone has their own mentality and personality.
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"There are many paths to success, but the way you handle it and live with it for years can make you a balanced and happy person, or on the contrary, success can make you unhappy because the notoriety ends up consuming you."
Nadal turned professional in men's tennis in 2001, and over the next two decades became an all-time great of the sport.
He won a remarkable 14 French Open titles, along with two Australian Open crowns, Wimbledon twice, and four US Open titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games.
He won 92 career titles in all, the fifth most in the Open Era, and retired last year.
Barcelona are 11th in the Champions League table, with seven points, after two wins, a draw and a defeat. They are above Chelsea, in 12th place, on goal difference.
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