'Find balance!' - Lamine Yamal fired warning by Barcelona team-mate Robert Lewandowski as off-field scandals threaten to take shine off career thus far

Yamal reportedly hired dwarves to perform at his lavish birthday celebrations. The move has triggered fierce condemnation from the Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias (ADEE), which represents people with dwarfism under Spain’s national disability federation, COCEMFE.

ADEE branded the incident "deeply disrespectful" and expressed disappointment that such a public figure could show such a lack of awareness. The backlash has since spread across social media, triggering a heavy dose of online drama.

Speaking to ESPN, Lewandowski said of Yamal: "Lamine is so young, he can enjoy life. He has to enjoy the life because everything, not only in football, but outside of it, is in front of him. Of course, that will be also a tough moment for him, how to handle it, all things around him. For sure, that will be not easy but he has to also enjoy everything. Still in this age, you can, and probably in the future he cannot. You have to just find the balance."

In May, Yamal penned a new Barcelona deal running until 2031, a mammoth commitment that cemented his place as one of the faces of the club’s future. To add to the weight on his young shoulders, he’s also taken over the club’s legendary No. 10 shirt, worn by icons such as Lionel Messi.

"He is a very good guy. People doesn't understand that we want to show something of who we are," Lewndowski said. "He shows what he is. Of course, there will be a lot of speculation, a lot of talk about this. It depends how he handles this for the long term. I think the most important thing for him, and probably he will have to answer himself, is that it [media attention] will be too much in two, three, four years."

Lewandowski also pointed out the ruthless nature of fame in the social media age, where one day you’re a hero and the next you’re a villain.

"He's working hard," the Poland international said. "But the part outside of football, the emotion that in one day on social media you are [up] here, and the next day you are on the ground. This means that also for your body, for your mind, for your head, it's a huge pressure...He probably has to find the answer for this in the future."

Lewandowski, now one of the elder statesmen in the Barca dressing room, knows better than most how fast the game, and public opinion, can change. Barcelona’s La Liga title defence kicks off this Saturday with an away clash against Mallorca and Yamal will be expected to play a starring role.