It’s El Clásico weekend as Barcelona and Real Madrid meet on Sunday with the top spot in La Liga on the line, and Lamine Yamal is delivering extra motivation to his rivals. Appearing on the YouTube channel for the Saudi Kings League, Yamal compared Porcinos FC, who will be set to face the team that Yamal is co-owner of, La Capital FC, to Real Madrid alongside former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué.
“They rob; they complain,” Yamal said, referring to Real Madrid’s responses to refereeing decisions, and Piqué added that, “it’s not debatable.”
Last season, Real Madrid went as far as to demand new officials for the Copa Del Rey final after the referees who were set to oversee the match, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, spoke out after receiving abuse ahead of the match, which included Real Madrid TV. Los Blancos claimed that speaking out would make the referees unbiased in their decisions.
They also sent an open letter to LaLiga after a loss to Espanyol, where a foul on Kylian Mbappe resulted in a yellow card instead of a red card during a tight race for the LaLiga crown that they eventually lost to Barcelona.
Yamal also brought up the last time that he took a trip to the Santiago Bernebeau, saying, “Last time I went, it was 4-0.” Yamal did clarify that it doesn’t mean that he thinks Barcelona will win 4-0 again this time around, but given their performance last season, it is possible. Barcelona have won five consecutive matches against Real Madrid in the lead-up to this edition of the clash, but with Xabi Alonso now in charge, things could be different in this clash.
You never want to give a rival bulletin board material ahead of a major match, and Barcelona did just that heading into this match. Real Madrid currently lead LaLiga by two points over Barcelona only nine matches into the season, but this match will be the biggest league test that they have faced to date.
