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Young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal inherited the club’s number 10 shirt, previously worn by all-time great Lionel Messi, on Wednesday.

“Messi made his path and I will make mine,” Yamal told reporters at an event at the club shop at the Spotify Camp Nou stadium.

“I will work as hard as I can, give everything, and try to make those Barca fans who are there happy and those who are at home.”

The 18-year-old winger, often compared to the Argentine superstar who also came through the club’s La Masia youth academy, helped the Catalan giants win a domestic treble last season.

He signed a new contract with Barcelona until 2031 in May, becoming one of the best-paid players at the club.

“I hope to enjoy myself more than last year and make my dreams come true,” continued Yamal, who said he wanted to win the Champions League with the Catalan giants, and also the World Cup with Spain.

Yamal has scored 25 goals for the club in over 100 appearances, making his debut in 2023 at the age of 15, wearing the number 41 shirt.

“Barca is my life, I’ve been here since I was seven, for all kids from La Masia, their dream is to make it to the first team, and I’m doing it and I have to keep working,” said Yamal.

“When I was little, I dreamed of being at Barca and having this number.”

After a season wearing the 27, last summer Yamal followed in Messi’s footsteps by taking the number 19, which the Argentine wore at the club between 2005 and 2008.

READ ALSO: Teenage Barca Star Yamal Signs New Contract To 2031

Ansu Fati inherited Messi’s number 10 shirt in 2021, when now Inter Miami player left Barca for Paris Saint-Germain.

Beset by a series of injuries, Fati was unable to fulfill his potential at Barca and signed on loan for Monaco earlier in July.

Other star names, including Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo, have worn the Barcelona number 10 shirt in the past.

“(Messi, Maradona, Ronaldinho) are three legends of football, three legends of this club,” said Yamal.

“I am grateful for what they gave the club, and I will try to continue this legacy.”

Yamal made headlines after celebrating his 18th birthday last weekend with a private event involving hired entertainers with dwarfism.

Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights asked the public prosecutor to investigate the party after a complaint from the Association for People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias (ADEE).

“In the end, I work for Barca, I play for Barca, but when I’m away from (the club) I enjoy my life, and that’s all,” he added.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is expected to miss up to 12 weeks recovering from a shoulder operation after the Spanish giants said Wednesday he had successfully undergone surgery.

“Our player Jude Bellingham has undergone successful surgery for a recurrent left shoulder dislocation,” said Real Madrid in a statement.

“Bellingham will now begin a period of rehabilitation prior to his return to recovery work.”

While Madrid did not specify the expected length of his recovery time, Spanish media have reported it will take around 12 weeks for him to return to action.

Bellingham has been struggling with shoulder discomfort after dislocating it in a La Liga match in November 2023, and playing with a brace under his shirt since then.

READ ALSO: Maresca Hails ‘Great Triumph’ In Winning Club World Cup

The England midfielder held off on the operation until after Madrid’s participation in the Club World Cup this summer, with Xabi Alonso’s side reaching the semi-finals.

Bellingham is set to miss the La Liga visit to face rivals Atletico Madrid in late September, as well as the club’s first two Champions League matches.

The 22-year-old midfielder should be back in action by the time Madrid host Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season in late October.

“I’ve got the point where… I’m fed up with the brace, and having to tug on it and having (other) players tug on it, and it rearranging all the time,” said Bellingham during the Club World Cup.

The midfielder will also miss World Cup qualifiers with England against Andorra and Serbia on September 6 and 9 respectively.

Germany’s Florian Wellbrock won the men’s open water 10km at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Wednesday, after the race had been postponed for several hours because of poor water quality.

Wellbrock, the gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, won his third open water world title in a time of 1hr 59min 55.50sec at the Sentosa Island course when the race eventually began at 1:00 pm (0500 GMT).

Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver 3.70sec adrift, followed by Australia’s Kyle Lee in bronze.

“It was really tough today. I think it was the warmest waters that we’ve had to race in,” said Wellbrock of the sea temperature, which was around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

“I had one year to prepare for this. We did a lot of heat training and I think that was the key today to me taking the gold.”

READ ALSO: ‘World’s Oldest Marathon Runner’ Dies Aged 114 In Road Accident

Governing body World Aquatics delayed the race because water quality was “exceeding acceptable thresholds”.

The women’s 10km race had already been postponed on Tuesday and moved to Wednesday.

When it did finally get under way at 4:00 pm (0800 GMT), Moesha Johnson added world championship gold to the silver medal she won at the Paris Olympics last year.

The Australian came home first in 2hr 7min 51.30sec, finishing ahead again of Paris Olympics bronze medallist Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy (2:07:59.70).

Lisa Pou of Monaco (2:07:57.50), who was 18th in the Paris Olympics last summer, came in third for a surprise bronze medal.

World Aquatics said early Wednesday morning that the new afternoon time slots for the races were “subject to acceptable test results”.

But soon after, they confirmed both races would proceed in the afternoon as further analysis had found “significant improvement” in bacterial content and water temperature.

“Regular water quality monitoring and testing continues throughout the competition period to ensure athlete safety,” World Aquatics said in a statement.

“The health and safety of all participants continues to guide all competition-related decisions.”

The governing body said levels of E. coli bacteria had dropped to between the ranges of “good” and “excellent”, according to World Aquatics and World Health Organization regulations.

Water quality was a big problem for events held in the River Seine at last year’s Paris Olympics.

Of the 11 days of events and training scheduled in its murky waters, only five got the green light.

The river remained dogged by pollution problems despite a 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) upgrade to improve the Paris sewerage and water treatment system.

Manchester City have signed a blockbuster new kit deal with Puma worth a reported £1 billion ($1.34 billion) over the next 10 years.

City’s extension of their contract with Puma ranks as the largest kit manufacturing partnership in Premier League history.

Having agreed a £65 million per year deal with the German company in 2019, City’s new arrangement is believed to be worth a £100 million per year until 2035, according to British media reports.

That figure shatters the £90 million per year deal signed by Manchester United with Adidas in 2023.

READ ALSO: Barca Star Yamal Faces Probe Into Dwarf Entertainers At 18th Birthday

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are both reported to have kit deals worth in excess of £100 million per year.

“We joined forces with Puma with the ambition to challenge ourselves and go beyond the expectations. We have achieved this and more over the last six seasons,” City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano said.

“Puma have seamlessly integrated into our organisation, and we have enjoyed many historic moments together, engaging fans globally.”

Puma chief executive Arthur Hoeld added: “Puma’s partnership with Manchester City has been a great success both on and off the pitch.

“Trophies, a perfect stage for our performance products and commercial success were exceptional.”

City’s massive deal comes after the club’s first season without major silverware since 2016-17.

Pep Guardiola’s men finished third in the Premier League after winning the title for the previous four seasons.