Ruud Gullit Warns About Lamine Yamal's Workload at Barcelona

Ruud Gullit has sounded a sharp warning over Lamine Yamal’s workload, insisting Barcelona are walking a dangerous line with the 17-year-old prodigy.

Speaking to AS in Madrid in his role with the Laureus Academy, the 63-year-old Dutchman praised Yamal’s extraordinary talent but questioned how often the teenager is being thrown into the most demanding games, week after week.

Gullit pointed to a pattern Barcelona know only too well. La Masia has produced a stream of brilliant youngsters, and some of them have paid a heavy price for being pushed through an unforgiving schedule too early.

“It’s not normal,” he said, outlining his concern over the physical strain on Yamal. “The only thing is, the team depends on him a lot. And he’s a very young player.”

That dependence is exactly what alarms him. Yamal has become a central figure for club and country before even reaching adulthood, a situation that echoes the rapid rise of Pedri and Gavi. Both were loaded with minutes, both were key in a World Cup before their bodies were fully ready for that burden, and both suffered serious injury setbacks.

“I’m really worried he’ll get injured because they use him all the time. And they say, ‘Yes, but he’s young,’” Gullit warned, invoking those recent examples. “But you saw it with Pedri, with Gavi. They have to play in a World Cup. Then you go to play in a World Cup with the youngsters and then you get injured.”

For Gullit, the danger is not just the initial blow. It’s what comes after.

“And coming back from an injury is tough,” he stressed, underlining how hard it is for a teenager to regain rhythm, confidence, and that fearless edge once their body has been pushed too far.

His message was not a criticism of Yamal, far from it. It was a plea to protect him.

“So I hope it doesn’t happen again. Therefore, I love what he does,” Gullit added, making clear that his admiration for the youngster’s game is exactly why he wants to see him shielded from the kind of overload that has already scarred Barcelona’s recent golden generation.