J.LEAGUE
WHAT ALBERT PUIG SAID
He told Jijantes: "Lamine Yamal had already gone on a trial with Espanyol. They had noticed him before. Then, two key figures at La Torreta appeared. The president, Rafa Rodriguez and Juan Gascon. Also the scout, Isidre Gil, absolute legend. If I’m not mistaken, he also scouted Marc Casado and many others. So, Isidre Gil goes to La Torreta’s playground, and there in the bar he asks if they have any good players. And Gascon answers, 'Look, there’s a little dark-skinned kid who’s really good'. Talking about the guy [Lamine Yamal] Espanyol had scouted. The next day they had a match and they won 6-0. He said, 'Well, this kid has to play for Barça'.
"Then Lamine Yamal came for a trial. A funny detail: Juan Gascon told him a thousand times to not forget anything, but of course, what happens? He forgets his boots. Well, we are talking about a six-year-old kid. And obviously we lent a pair of boots.
"Despite being one or even two years younger than others, he stands out incredibly. And, obviously, since I was there, you can imagine who made the decision. From that moment, we told him to keep coming back, and we formally notified them that we wanted him."
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