Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said he neither remembered nor is interested in Hansi Flick’s complaints about the national team’s handling of Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona star Yamal returned from Spain duty this month with a groin injury after playing over 70 minutes in World Cup qualifying wins against both Bulgaria and Turkey.
The 18-year-old has subsequently missed Barça’s games against Valencia, Newcastle United, Getafe and Real Oviedo, with Barça coach Flick accusing Spain of not taking care of the player.
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“Right now I don’t remember what Flick said,” De la Fuente commented at an event on Thursday. “Neither is it of any interest to me.”
Yamal joined up with Spain earlier this month with a slight groin issue which was aggravated by starting both matches with La Roja.
Flick complained he had been unable to train with Spain and was only able to play after taking painkillers.
“This is not taking care of players,” Flick said. “Spain have the best team in the world, in every position they are unbelievably good. I am really sad about this [situation].
“I never really spoke with [De la Fuente about it]. Maybe my Spanish is not good, his English is not good, so this is a problem.
“Normally, the communication, because we have more players there than just Lamine, could be better. I was also on this side as [the Germany] national team coach, so I know how hard this job sometimes is, but the communication with the clubs was always good.”
Yamal, who scored two goals and provided two assists in his three Barça appearances this season before getting injured, is expected to return soon, with Barça hosting Real Sociedad in LaLiga on Sunday and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
He’s one of several Barça players currently sidelined, with Marc-André ter Stegen, Alejandro Balde, Fermín López and Gavi all missing Thursday’s game at Oviedo as well.
