It was only a matter of time. Ever since it became official that Lamine Yamal would wear number 10 for FC Barcelona, everyone was waiting for a reaction.
A specific reaction. The one from the man who turned that number into a legend.
It didn't take long. It came in the form of a personal message. Warm, emotional, full of symbolic weight.
Because when Leo Messi speaks, it's not just anyone. Lamine Yamal, who just turned eighteen, has received the most special recognition, the most important of all.
Messi keeps a close eye on Lamine
This isn't the first time the Argentine star has showered the young Barça academy product with praise. He already congratulated him when he won the Golden Boy.
He also did so when he lifted his first league title with the first team. Messi watches in silence, but he's not absent.
This time, he didn't want to stay silent. He knows what it means to wear Barça's number 10.
He knows what it represents for someone like Lamine to wear it. That's why his words weren't chosen at random.
"That number is what you deserve", Messi told the young blaugrana talent.
The heir he never had
Since his departure in 2021, Barça's number 10 had been left orphaned. Neither Agüero, nor Ansu Fati, nor anyone else managed to fill that void.
It was as if the jersey was waiting for the chosen one. For Messi, that chosen one already has a name.
"Lamine Yamal is the present and the future", he has said on more than one occasion. It's not just a nice phrase. It's a statement of intent, a kind of blessing, a symbolic passing of the torch.
As if Leo were personally handing his crown to the young prince.
Pride and responsibility at Camp Nou
The club has enthusiastically received Messi's message. Because it's not just support for Lamine. It's support for the project, for the academy, for the philosophy that made Barça great.
Meanwhile, Lamine has been deeply moved. He knows what it means. He also knows that this message obligates him even more.
Because inheriting Messi's number 10 isn't a free privilege. It's a daily challenge. A constant demand that he's willing to take on.
Barça already has a new leader
It's not an exaggeration. At just eighteen, Lamine is already the team's main reference point. For his talent, his personality, and that aura that surrounds him.
Now, in addition, he wears the club's most sacred number. He does so with the endorsement of the one who made it eternal.
Messi has already spoken. He did so to make it clear that Lamine Yamal is more than a promise. He's the chosen one.