Young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal inherited the club’s number 10 shirt, previously worn by all-time great Lionel Messi, on Wednesday.

“Messi made his path and I will make mine,” Yamal told reporters at an event at the club shop at the Spotify Camp Nou stadium.

“I will work as hard as I can, give everything and try to make those Barca fans who are there happy and those who are at home.”

The 18-year-old winger, often compared to the Argentine superstar who also came through the club’s La Masia youth academy, helped the Catalan giants win a domestic treble last season.

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He signed a new contract with Barcelona until 2031 in May, becoming one of the best paid players at the club.

“I hope to enjoy myself more than last year and make my dreams come true,” continued Yamal, who said he wanted to win the Champions League with the Catalan giants, and also the World Cup with Spain.

Yamal has scored 25 goals for the club in over 100 appearances, making his debut in 2023 at the age of 15 wearing the number 41 shirt.

“Barca is my life, I’ve been here since I was seven, for all kids from La Masia their dream is to make it to the first team and I’m doing it and I have to keep working,” said Yamal.

“When I was little I dreamed of being at Barca and having this number.”

READ ALSO:Barcelona’s Clash With Osasuna Postponed

After a season wearing the 27, last summer Yamal followed in Messi’s footsteps by taking the number 19, which the Argentine wore at the club between 2005 and 2008.

Ansu Fati inherited Messi’s number 10 shirt in 2021, when now Inter Miami player left Barca for Paris Saint-Germain.

Beset by a series of injuries Fati was unable to fulfil his potential at Barca and signed on loan for Monaco earlier in July.

Other star names including Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo have worn the Barcelona number 10 shirt in the past.

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“(Messi, Maradona, Ronaldinho) are three legends of football, three legends of this club,” said Yamal.

“I am grateful for what they gave the club and I will try to continue this legacy.”

Yamal made headlines after celebrating his 18th birthday last weekend with a private event involving hired entertainers with dwarfism.

Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights asked the public prosecutor to investigate the party after a complaint from the Association for People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias (ADEE).

“In the end I work for Barca, I play for Barca, but when I’m away from (the club) I enjoy my life, and that’s all,” he added.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has confirmed his club will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being demoted from the Europa League.

Palace qualified for the Europa League with a shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May.

But UEFA, European football’s governing body, ruled Palace should drop down to the Conference League over a conflict of interest involving the club’s former director John Textor, who also part-owns French side Lyon.

READ ALSO:Newcastle Thrash Crystal Palace To Go Third In Premier League

Textor stepped away from Palace at the start of July, but the ownership issue relates to the end of last season when the south London team secured a maiden European appearance by winning the first major trophy in their history.

UEFA’s ruling would mean Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, take Palace’s place in the Europa League, but Parish has signalled his intent to contest the decision.

“We are still fighting,” Parish told the The Rest is Football podcast. “There’s an appeal process, so we go to CAS which is the court for arbitration and, you know, we’re very hopeful. We think we’ve got great legal arguments.

“We don’t think this is the right decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John didn’t have decisive influence over the club.

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“We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it’s a fact.”

UEFA rules say that no owner or co-owner can have a controlling interest in more than one club competing in the same European competition during the same season.

Palace’s position throughout has been that Textor did not have a sufficiently controlling role for the club to fall foul of the regulations.

But the deadline for shareholders to divest their interest in a club, or in some other way to alter their ownership structure, in order to comply with the regulations was March 1.

Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, on Tuesday, July 25, 2025, visited Coach Kadiri Ikhana and promised the state government’s support in his current state.

Enabulele, visited the ailing coach at the Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua, described Coach Ikhana as a dedicated and committed football legend, as he prayed for his swift and full recovery.

A statement by Enabulele’s Media Officer, Edoko Wilson Edoko, said the Edo sports boss was represented by Frank Ilaboya, the Commission’s Executive Director, Edo North.

Enabulele, who noted in the statement that Coach Ikhana is recuperating well, reassured the public of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s unwavering support for the ailing coach.

READ ALSO: Enabulele Hails Edo-born Athletes’ International Feats

“So many of our football legends have passed on due to neglect, but Coach Kadiri Ikhana, one of Nigeria’s most successful domestic football coaches, is in high spirits,” he said, adding that the Edo State Government will continue to stand by Coach Ikhana throughout his recovery.

Responding, Coach Ikhana, who was a member of Nigeria’s victorious 1980 African Cup of Nations team, and a former player and coach of Bendel Insurance FC, expressed his gratitude for the visit.

He thanked the Edo State Sports Commission for the gesture, noting that the show of care and concern would greatly aid his recovery.