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Barca crash out of Champions League
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Barcelona had it all to do in the Spanish capital this Tuesday after losing 2-0 at home to Atlético Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg tie last week. A first-half red card for young defender Pau Cubarsí hindered Barca heavily in Catalonia and discipline would prove to be their kryptonite again at the Wanda Metropolitano. After early goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres levelled the tie up, Ademola Lookman clawed one back for the hosts. Then, late on, as Barca were pushing to bring tie things up once more, defender Eric García saw red for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Despite not progressing, it was still a special individual night for teenage sensation Yamal, with the 18-year-old making his 150th Barcelona appearance and providing his 100th goal contribution (goals + assists) for the club in the process. He has already achieved so much in the game for a player so young, and has now tumbled another record as the youngest ever player to reach 150 games for Barca, smashing the previous player in the process. Yamal also finds himself among legends in the list of the top 10 players to get the most goal contributions in their first 150 appearances for the club.
The youngest players to reach 150 Barcelona games
At just 18 years and 275 days, Yamal has will become by far the youngest player to ever reach 150 games in the famous blue and maroon of Barcelona. He has eclipsed the previous record setter, who was Bojan, who racked up 150 Barca games in 2011 aged 20 years and 141 days - almost two years older than Yamal. The next youngest is Gavi, who hit 150 Barcelona matches last year when he was 20 years and 279 days old. Then comes the great Lionel Messi - the only non-Spanish player in the top 10 - who reached the 150 game landmark in 2009 aged 21 years and 284 days old.
Next in fifth is Yamal's teammate Pedri, who managed 150 Barcelona appearances in 2024 when he was 21 years and 302 days old. Another of the current crop takes sixth in Alejandro Balde who hit 150 games when he was aged 22 years and 89 days. Midfield legends, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta take seventh and eighth respectively - they were both 22 when hitting 150 matches, whilst Sergio Busquets (23 years and 89 days) and Pep Guardiola (23 years and 323 days) complete the top 10.
Most goal contributions in first 150 Barcelona games
When it comes to the players to register the most goal contributions within their first 150 games for Barcelona, Yamal actually features in the top. Leading the way though on this front is Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, who racked up an incredible 189 goal contributions in his first 150 games for the Catalan side. Neymar is second with exactly 150 goal contributions and is followed by countryman Ronaldinho with 131 goal contributions. Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o takes fourth with 128 goal contributions, with current forward Robert Lewandowski in fifth with 123 goal contributions.
Rewind to the late 1990s and Patrick Kluivert (116 goals) takes sixth, with Brazilian Rivaldo (113 goals) just behind in seventh. The magician Messi (111 goals) is eighth, with current winger Raphinha (110 goals) in ninth. Yamal then takes 10th position with as many as 100 goal contributions already in a Barcelona shirt. Although he is only 10th, when you consider that he has done this between the ages of 16 and 18, a lot of his initial appearances were off the bench or less than 90 minutes, and many of the names above are legends of the game, it is some achievement for Yamal.
