New conflict? Barcelona outraged by De la Fuente's decision on Yamal
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
Tensions between Barcelona and the Spanish national team management remain high, with Lamine Yamal once again at the heart of the conflict. After his injury in the match against Bulgaria, the friction between the club and Luis de la Fuente has only intensified and become public.
The latest flare-up came this week. Following the game against PSG, Yamal experienced discomfort in his pubic bone area and personally contacted the national team head coach the next day. He asked for two weeks of rest. However, according to AS, De la Fuente replied: "If you are able to play for Barcelona, you can play for the national team as well."
Upon learning this, Barcelona's sporting director Deco reached out to Aitor Karanka of Spain's coaching staff to explain that the forward was not ready. But again, there was little understanding from their side.
The situation escalated on Friday when Yamal's name appeared in the announced squad for the international fixtures. Barcelona viewed this as a blatant provocation, since the player had expressly requested not to be called up. In response, the Catalans quickly published an official medical report stating a recurrence of groin pain and the need for a three-week break. As a result, the RFEF eventually excluded Yamal from the squad, but hinted that had the documents arrived earlier, the conflict could have been avoided.
It's worth noting that a similar situation previously involved another Barcelona player, Marc Bernal, who was called up to Spain's U21 team.
