Becker warns Lamine Yamal as Barcelona prodigy rides wave of fame

Boris Becker has warned Lamine Yamal that the Barcelona teenager’s rapid rise could invite problems if not navigated carefully, telling TalkSport that alarm bells should ring for someone who has already become one of football’s most recognizable young stars. The tennis great, who won Wimbledon at 17, urged Yamal to assemble trusted advisers to guard his privacy and long-term interests as his profile grows on and off the pitch.

Yamal, who made his Barcelona debut at 15, has since transformed from a prodigy into a global name, collecting domestic and continental honors and regularly appearing near the top of year-end lists. He finished a Ballon d’Or ceremony runner-up behind Ousmane Dembele and captured the Kopa Trophy for the second consecutive year, a sign of his mounting influence at a very young age. His ascent has been accompanied by intense media attention and off-field headlines, including a widely publicized holiday with an OnlyFans model and allegations that he exploited people with dwarfism and hired guests by their measurements at his 18th-birthday party. Yamal responded to the latter episode by saying, “I wasn’t mad. I found it funny. They tried to smear it in many ways. A woman said I chose the girls one way or another, and it was all a lie. Then there was the thing about the waiters, who were working there.”

Becker, speaking to TalkSport, praised Yamal but warned that success at such a young age can test even the strongest individuals. “Lamine is wonderful,” Becker said. “He's winning everything. He's the best young player in the world right now. He reminds me of myself when I was 17. With him, my alarm bells ring. You only have to look at what Lamine Yamal is going through these days. I think he has a very high risk of facing certain difficulties in 10 or 15 years. In his case, he comes from very humble origins, and now he and his entire family are rich, and a lot of people are going to approach him out of interest. He's lost all his privacy. He needs to have two or three serious people around him. He needs to choose his friends, trust his family, and build a safety net.”

Becker knows what it’s like to taste success at a young age. He won Wimbledon at 17 — the youngest man to do so — and went on to lift a total of six Grand Slam titles, including multiple Wimbledon trophies. But the German did not always welcome the fame, and he admitted that he may have preferred to have had the success further down the line. “When I won Wimbledon at 17, I was still trying to grow up and find my place in the world,” he said. “After you win, whatever you do becomes global news and makes headlines in the biggest newspapers. I'm happy to have won three Wimbledons, but maybe at 17 I was too young. I was still a kid.”

Yamal’s rise has placed him among the world’s most visible footballers, a status that comes with both opportunities and scrutiny. The season ahead will test how he negotiates a balance between continuing to perform at the highest level and managing the personal boundaries that have become increasingly difficult to maintain amid relentless media attention. Support networks built around trusted family, advisers and close friends have been repeatedly highlighted by players who experienced similar trajectories as a shield against outside influence.

As the season unfolds, Becker’s warning serves as a reminder that the football world often accelerates fame beyond what even a young athlete can safely absorb. For Yamal, the challenge will be translating extraordinary talent into a durable career while guarding the privacy and relationships that helped shape his rise.