Barca blocks Yamal from joining the Spanish national team

Barca has chosen to stop Lamine Yamal from rejoining the Spanish national squad due to concerns about the 18-year-old prodigy’s groin injury flaring up again after he played while taking pain relief medication.

Barcelona is planning to prohibit Lamine Yamal from participating in Spain’s World Cup qualifying matches against Georgia (October 11) and Bulgaria (October 14). This move is prompted by the fact that the 18-year-old prodigy had to take painkillers to play for the national team earlier this month, which worsened his groin injury.

According to the newspaper ARA (Catalonia), coach Hansi Flick is expected to use Yamal in two crucial matches against PSG (Champions League) and Sevilla (La Liga) this week, before officially announcing that the young player will be unavailable for the national team. Barca’s frustration comes from Yamal being forced to play over 70 minutes each game for La Roja, even when the team had a comfortable lead.

Coach Flick openly expressed his disappointment: “Yamal had to play in pain, unable to train but was still injected with medication to continue playing. That is not how you protect a player.” As a result, the 2007-born star had to sit out matches against Valencia, Getafe, Real Oviedo, and missed the Champions League opener against Newcastle.

Not only Barcelona, but FIFPRO, the global professional players’ association, also issued warnings. According to a recent report, Yamal has played 130 matches at the age of 18, three times more than the legendary Andres Iniesta did at the same age. Expert Darren Burgess emphasized that “overplaying” during development phases can lead to long-term injuries and even psychological effects.

Nevertheless, Yamal made a comeback last weekend, coming off the bench to assist Robert Lewandowski’s decisive goal that helped Barca beat Sociedad. Before his injury, the young player had an impressive start to the 2025/26 La Liga season with 2 goals and 2 assists in just 3 matches.

This week will present another big challenge for Hansi Flick’s team as they face PSG at home and then travel to Sevilla. Barca currently leads La Liga with 19 points, just one point ahead of Real Madrid, making it a top priority to keep Yamal healthy.