“If I Were Lamine Yamal, I’d Watch What the Club Is Doing” – Deco’s Candid Warning to Barcelona

Barcelona sporting director Deco has delivered one of his clearest messages yet about the club’s direction, insisting that La Masia talent is in the team due to merit, not necessity, and hinting that young stars like Lamine Yamal should be alert to the project being built around them.

In an interview with The Times ahead of Barcelona’s trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, Deco outlined the philosophy shaping the club’s next era. His comments stitched together issues of squad-building, financial management, academy reliance and, most notably, the future of the club’s brightest talent.

Deco’s tenure marks a rare alignment between sporting vision and institutional need. Brought in by Joan Laporta following his career as a player and later an agent, the Portuguese-Brazilian has become one of the most influential voices inside the club’s technical hierarchy. Barcelona’s financial limitations have invited assumptions that La Masia graduates populate the first team out of obligation. Deco pushed back forcefully.

He argued that the current wave of homegrown players is a reflection of an exceptionally strong generation rather than economic restraint: “We’re backing the youth team players because they’re good enough. If they weren’t, there’s no way they’d be playing for Barcelona.” He framed the academy as an advantage, not a fallback, adding that their emergence helped the club avoid dipping into the market unnecessarily.

At the core of that generation is the 17-year-old winger who has already become Barcelona’s face of the future. Deco made no attempt to hide Yamal’s centrality to his project. He said the club must build the team around him while creating a competitive environment capable of convincing him to stay long-term. “If that happens, Lamine Yamal will be happy,” he said, before adding the line that will echo through Barcelona’s corridors: “If I were him, I’d be paying close attention to what the club is doing.”

The implication is clear. The club’s ambition in the transfer market, its squad planning, and its ability to assemble a winning team will inevitably shape Yamal’s commitment. For a player chased by Europe’s elite and already burdened with expectations, Barcelona’s strategic clarity matters more than ever. The subtext raises a pointed question: what happens if the club’s project stalls?

Barcelona’s recruitment strategy has already produced one high-profile addition in Marcus Rashford, who arrived on loan after persistent interest from Deco. He described the English forward as a tactical fit, capable of playing across the front line, and credited Rashford for his patience. “He waited a long time,” Deco said. “He knew we were dealing with financial regulations, but he was patient. He waited, and we’re happy to have him.” Rashford’s versatility and experience are expected to lift an attack that depends heavily on Yamal’s explosiveness.

But bolstering the squad will require financial maneuvering, and Deco acknowledged a delicate truth that Barcelona rarely states publicly. For the first time, he opened the door to targeted player sales, not as a philosophical shift but a professional necessity. “Our main idea isn’t to sell players; Barça isn’t a club that likes to do that,” he said. “But of course, we need to improve in that area because sometimes it’s necessary to sell players. To sell young players, you need control. You have to pay attention to when their contracts end, you have to plan for the future.”

The remark signals a more pragmatic era. Barcelona cannot afford to let contracts run down or overlook market opportunities. Even academy stars, historically seen as untouchable, will be evaluated through a more strategic lens.

Deco’s comments paint the picture of a club trying to shape a sustainable long-term identity while still competing at the highest level. Whether Barcelona can achieve that balance will define the coming seasons and influence decisions for players like Yamal, who already shoulders the hopes of a rebuilding project.

What Barcelona does next, on and off the pitch, may determine not only the success of Deco’s vision but the trajectory of its most valuable young talent.