Lamine Yamal Names Barcelona’s Main Rivals for Champions League

Lamine Yamal has named the five biggest threats to Barcelona as they bid to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015.

The Catalan giants won a domestic treble in Hansi Flick’s first season in charge, seeing off Real Madrid in the final of both cup competitions en route to dominating their Clásico rivals in every match they played against them.

But Barcelona came up short in the competition they arguably want to win most. In an absurd 13-goal semifinal played over two legs, Inter Milan emerged 7–6 winners on aggregate—Francesco Acerbi’s dramatic stoppage-time goal denying Barça a place in the final before Davide Frattesi’s extra-time winner settled the tie.

Barcelona won the Champions League four times between 2004–05 and 2014–15, becoming one of the most feared, dominant club sides ever seen. But their 3–1 win over Juventus in Berlin is the last time they have even reached the final—a surprise given the incredible talent that has passed through Camp Nou in the years that have followed.

They are once again billed as one of the favorites to win the 2025–26 edition—Opta’s number crunching of the league phase suggesting Barça should sail through to the knockout stages without the need to contest a round of 16 playoff.

But Yamal, speaking to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, is aware that Barça have some major obstacles standing in their way if they are to end their 11-year drought.

“Manchester City or Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain... they're always there.” he replied when asked who Barcelona’s biggest adversaries will be.

Hamstrung by crippling debt and a stadium renovation that has cost them millions in lost matchday revenue, Barcelona may have the most talented player in the world in Yamal—their new No.10 is expected to become the face of the club for the next 15 to 20 years—and the teenager playing alongside Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski gives the Catalans one of the most potent attacks on the continent.

“I think so. In elite football, it's very important to believe in yourself and have character,” Yamal added of his strong mentality. “Always with humility, but knowing that if you're there, it's because you have the level to compete.”

That mentality, alongside Yamal’s talent, could render the abilities of Liverpool, Real Madrid, PSG and all the others insignificant. The key to Barça succeeding, though, as the 18-year-old pointed out, is to learn that “every mistake you make [in the Champions League] comes at a price.”