Ruud Gullit Warns About Lamine Yamal's Workload

Ruud Gullit has sounded a stark warning over Lamine Yamal’s workload, insisting Barcelona are running a huge risk with the teenager’s body.

Speaking in Madrid to AS in his role as a Laureus Academy member, the 63-year-old Dutchman praised Yamal’s extraordinary talent but questioned why a 17-year-old is already carrying so much of the burden in the biggest games.

Gullit pointed directly at the scars left on other La Masia prodigies who were pushed to the limit too early. Pedri. Gavi. The names hang there like a caution sign. Both were fast-tracked, both thrown into packed calendars, both have already endured serious injury setbacks.

“It’s not normal,” Gullit said, stressing how heavily the team leans on Yamal.

The winger has become a central figure for club and country while still in his teens, expected to start, expected to decide matches, expected to do it again three days later.

That is exactly what alarms him. The argument that youth can handle everything doesn’t convince Gullit. He pointed to the way young players are sent from club duty straight into World Cups, asked to play on the biggest stage, then sent back to do it all over again. The pattern, he warned, ends too often in the treatment room.

“You saw it with Pedri, with Gavi,” he noted, underlining how quickly the dream can stall once injury strikes.

And the real battle, he reminded, begins after the damage is done. Coming back from a serious setback, especially at that age, is “tough” – physically, mentally, and in the fight to regain rhythm.

So his message over Yamal is clear: enjoy him, but protect him. Gullit made no attempt to hide his admiration, stressing that he “loves” what the youngster does on the pitch. The fear is that if Barcelona and Spain keep leaning on him “all the time,” that brilliance could be interrupted by the same cruel cycle that has already hit Pedri and Gavi.

The talent is not in doubt. The question, as Gullit sees it, is whether anyone will dare to ease the load before the next wonderkid is added to the injury list.