When you think of footballers’ houses, you probably think of luxury, extravagance and an array of things that nobody could possibly need. Lionel Messi’s house in Castelldefels, a town on the outskirts of Barcelona where he lived when he played for the club, reportedly had two swimming pools, a football pitch and a playground. Gerard Pique’s mansion in Esplugues, in the city’s suburbs, had five floors and a tennis court.
Advertisement Last July, in an interview with GQ magazine, Lamine Yamal was asked what the best thing was about where he lived. “My bedroom is just two minutes away from the Barcelona dressing room and I don’t need too much time to get there,” he said. Yamal, 17, is now a global icon after breaking through with Barca and helping Spain win the European Championship in Germany this summer.
But until very recently the teenager lived in what is essentially student accommodation at La Masia — Barcelona’s renowned youth academy. Pau Cubarsi , the Barca centre-back who is the same age as Yamal, still lives there. It has not worked out too badly for either of them — Yamal has 10 goal involvements (five goals, five assists) in all competitions this season, while Cubarsi is an undisputed starter at the back for Hansi Flick’s side.
Not that they receive any special treatment. At the end of each Barca game at their temporary home, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Yamal and Cubarsi have had to make sure they don’t miss the car that drives them bac.