Barcelona Cancels Yamal’s Appearance at Today’s OPPO Event, Strictly Controls His Behavior

After Lamine Yamal made controversial remarks about Real Madrid during Gerard Piqué’s Kings League last Thursday, followed by Los Blancos’ victory in the El Clásico, Barcelona has decided to strictly control the Spanish international’s public activities to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

The Spanish star is at the center of a media storm. He was originally scheduled to attend the new product launch event of his endorsed brand OPPO on Tuesday, promoting the Find X9 series smartphones. Previously, during his appearance with influencer Ibai Llanos, he implied that Real Madrid "wins by stealing and complaining" and even claimed he might replicate last season’s thrashing of the opponents. Several figures in football pointed out that top young talents at this age should not be over-exposed to the public eye—and it seems the club has now learned its lesson.

Although OPPO invited influencers like Iris Miquel and David Suárez to participate in the "Take the best photo of Lamine with the new phone" challenge via Instagram Stories, and the brand officially released related previews, Barcelona’s management ultimately decided that it was not advisable for the La Masia youngster to make another public appearance.

The Catalan giants have advised the player to skip the event, and Yamal himself has accepted the arrangement—he is clearly aware that his inappropriate remarks have sparked (perhaps excessive) controversy, which did no good for the team’s preparation for the Bernabéu clash.

Additionally, an interview with French YouTuber AmineMaTuer, which was scheduled to be released today, will go ahead as planned. Though the timing is inappropriate, the interview was recorded last week and cannot be postponed.