Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published on Thursday, 01 January 2026, 21:44 / Updated on Thursday, 01 January 2026 21:45
Lamine Yamal's absence was the big surprise at Barcelona's first training session of 2026. The Spanish striker was at the training center but did not join the training session.
According to the Spanish media, quoted by abola.pt, the footballer was present at the Catalans' training center in the early afternoon, but left the premises without joining his colleagues in the afternoon session.
Important absence for Barcelona: Lamine Yamal did not participate in the first training session of 2026
The Blaugrana club did not issue any statement to explain the reasons for the absence of the Spanish international, given that Hansi Flick's team has a very important duel in the fight for the title in La Liga against Espanyol. The duel was scheduled for January 3, from 22:00.
Barcelona has a very busy first month of 2026. After the duel with Espanyol, the Supercup of Spain follows where they will initially play in the semifinals of the competition against those from Bilbao. In the final, if they qualify, they could meet Real or Atletico Madrid.
Until the end of January, the Spaniards will play in the domestic championship with Real Sociedad and Real Oviedo, and in the Champions League against Slavia Prague and FC Copenhagen. In the Champions League they would need 6 points to hope for a qualification in the top 8, while in the championship they are in first place, 4 points away from the chasing Real Madrid.
Lamine Yamal is one of Barcelona's main scorers. The 18-year-old has 20 appearances this season in all competitions, 9 goals and 11 assists. It is quoted by specialized websites at 200 million euros. The Spanish international has missed 4 games this season due to a pubalgia he is dealing with. This could also be the reason for today's absence from training.
