Lamine Yamal picks up Laureus breakthrough award, ‘Team of the Year’ Real Madrid send rallying cry | OneFootball

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has been crowned the breakthrough athlete of the year by Laureus, at a glitzy sports awards night in Madrid. The 17-year-old was one of a number of headline names honoured at the awards, including Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles and Mondo Duplantis amongst others.

Lamine Yamal did not attend the awards event in Madrid, less than 24 hours before Barcelona take on RCD Mallorca at Montjuic in La Liga. However he did send a video message as his acceptance speech, pointing out that he hoped that team honours were to follow the individual ones.

“Good evening, everyone. I would have loved to be there with you, but it wasn’t possible. First of all, I wanted to thank the Laureus Academy for the award. It’s an honour for me and my family to receive this kind of award,” he told Sport.

“I don’t want to forget the staff of the national team and Barca, and obviously my teammates, without whom I wouldn’t have gotten here. I hope the team titles come as well, because in the end, that’s what we all want. I’m very happy to receive the award. I’ll keep working towards these things, and I hope the season goes well.”

Meanwhile Real Madrid were awarded the team of the year by Laureus, having secured the Champions League and La Liga titles in 2024. Captains Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal were in attendance to collect the award.

“I wanted to thank Laureus on behalf of Real Madrid. Our club is proud to receive such a prestigious award. I think we had a great season, winning many trophies and showing excellence on the pitch. We reached the highest levels last season,” Modric explained, as relayed Marca.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 01: Daniel Carvajal of Real Madrid celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Final match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid CF at Wembley Stadium on June 01, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Meanwhile Carvajal sent a rallying cry to Real Madrid ahead of the Copa del Rey final this Saturday night in Seville.

“You have to get back on your feet when a tough blow like the Champions League comes your way. We have a big challenge on Saturday with another final and La Liga at stake. We have to take a step forward and show the crest we wear on our chest. There is no better time to get back up.”

Barcelona will go into the match as hot favourites against Los Blancos, where much of the talk is about the future of the managerial position rather than the Copa final in recent days, despite the fact Real Madrid are still very much in the hunt for La Liga and the Copa. The Blaugrana have shown signs of vulnerability in recent games though, conceding thrice against Borussia Dortmund and Celta Vigo in successive games.