{"id":5628,"date":"2026-04-15T23:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/5628\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T23:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:01:18","slug":"after-another-exit-lamine-yamal-again-vows-to-win-champions-league-with-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/5628\/","title":{"rendered":"After another exit, Lamine Yamal again vows to win Champions League with Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 Lamine Yamal has renewed his promise to win the Champions League<\/a> with Barcelona.<\/p>\n

A day after the team\u2019s elimination<\/a> by Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals, the 18-year-old Yamal said he will not give up and will fulfil his vow of capturing the trophy with the Catalan club.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are Bar\u00e7a, and we will be back where we belong,\u201d the teenager said on a post on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cMy parents taught me that a man\u2019s word always has to be fulfilled…we\u2019ll bring it to Barcelona.\u201d <\/p>\n

Barcelona defeated Atletico 2-1 on Tuesday but it had lost the first leg 2-0 at home last week. The Catalan club was trying to return to the semifinals for the second season in row. It won the last of its five Champions League trophies in 2015, with Lionel Messi at the top of his game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave it our all but it wasn\u2019t good enough,\u201d Yamal said. \u201cThis is just part of the road. To get to the top you have to climb, and we know it won\u2019t be easy, nor will they make it easy for us. But giving up is not an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have plenty of reasons to be excited about, and we\u2019re going after it with everything. Every mistake is a lesson, and don\u2019t doubt that we will learn from each one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamal, who scored one of Barcelona\u2019s goals on Tuesday, had similar words after the team\u2019s loss to Inter Milan in the 2025 semifinals, saying he \u201cwon\u2019t stop\u201d until he can \u201cfulfil my promise\u201d to win the Champions League with the club.<\/p>\n

Yamal, early Wednesday, was still using on his Instagram profile the photo of LeBron James holding the NBA trophy in 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors. <\/p>\n

He had said before the game against Atletico that James was an inspiration for Barcelona\u2019s comeback attempt. His team needed another goal on Tuesday to take the game to extra time.<\/p>\n

Yamal\u2019s Barcelona has a nine-point lead over second-place Real Madrid after 31 rounds in the Spanish league, and its next match is against Celta Vigo next week.<\/p>\n

Laporta\u2019s complaints<\/p>\n

Barcelona loudly complained of the refereeing in both legs against Atletico, with forward Raphinha likely facing punishment after saying Tuesday that his team was \u201crobbed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

President-elect Joan Laporta said Wednesday that the refereeing was \u201cshameful\u201d and \u201cinadmissible,\u201d and said the club planned to present a formal complaint with UEFA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe refereeing, both on the field and in the VAR booth, was a disgrace,\u201d he told Spanish media. \u201cWhat they did to us is intolerable. In the first leg, they didn\u2019t award us a clear penalty and sent off one of our players for a yellow card offense. The refereeing decisions hurt us a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barcelona had already made a complaint to UEFA about a possible penalty in its favor in the first leg. <\/p>\n

It had Pau Cubars\u00ed sent off in the first half of the opening game, and Eric Garc\u00eda was shown a red card in the second half on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/a><\/p>\n