Lamine Yamal has renewed his contract with FC Barcelona until 2031. The young footballer will wear the blaugrana jersey for at least six more years and will have the number 10 on his back. The signing took place in the presidential office with a family photo featuring the player himself and Joan Laporta. However, the youth academy product hasn't only made headlines for extending his contract with Barça, but a sector of the press has attacked him for reasons unrelated to sports.
A few weeks ago, he celebrated his 18th birthday. It was a lavish party, with more than 200 guests and at a secret location that the guests themselves didn't know until hours before it started. In principle, it was supposed to be a normal and discreet party, with no cell phones allowed, but as often happens in these cases, photos were leaked. The controversy arose due to the presence of some people with dwarfism hired to entertain at the party.
Opinion of the participants
Everything was legal. With a contract, with an invoice, with social security, no coercion, with consent. The problem came when some interested voices wanted to tarnish the player's image and criticized the participation of these people. First of all, they forgot that former Real Madrid player Theo Hernández hired people with dwarfism in 2017 to celebrate his party. Nothing happened, nobody cared.
Secondly, the so-called "victims," in an interview on the program Versió Rac1, said they were surprised by the debate. They explained that at no time were they disrespected and that they even stayed at the party after their performance. They acknowledged that their job is to entertain and asked the association that "represents" them not to get involved in the matter.
The supposed victims have made it clear that they aren't victims and have made it clear that they have their own voice. They have also insisted that if they're ever disrespected, they'll stop working.
Interested voices seeking to discredit Lamine Yamal
One of the most interested in undermining the image of the FC Barcelona player has been Juanma Rodríguez. The El Chiringuito contributor has published an article in Libertad Digital titled "What if Vinicius had hired people with dwarfism for his birthday?" Logically, besides criticizing Lamine Yamal, he seeks to reinforce the victim narrative around Vinícius Júnior. Poor Vinicius Junior, what would they say if he did that. Well, nothing would have happened. Just like nothing happened with Theo Hernández.