Power and responsibility

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Uncle Ben declared to Spiderman. Thus, the Marvel superhero comics made this quote go viral before the concept of “viral” even existed, and it became part of pop culture. The Peter Parker Principle, as experts call it. However, if we look at the thread, history has left us examples where this statement is part of popular wisdom. A document dating back to the French Revolution, from the National Convention, already stated that “great responsibility is the inseparable result of great power.” And, even further, in one of the parables included in the Gospel of Saint Luke, we find “to whom much is given, much will be required.” Hospitals are full of superheroes with great power and great responsibility. To give just one example.

And then there's a very particular breed of person with the great power to generate happiness. The most recent and explosive case is that of Lamine Yamal. Watching him play, without fear, without complexes, with a self-confidence unbecoming of his youth, has generated tons and tons of happiness and excitement among Barcelona fans in recent months. This superpower is difficult to measure, but this week Barça has put a number on it. For now, neither publicly nor officially. A renewal without numbers and also without images. Not a single photograph or video frame of the most anticipated and most important renewal the club will have in the coming years. The unofficial explanation is that, at such an important event, there were people special to the player missing, and he didn't want to take the photo without them. I don't recall, at any renewal, family members appearing in the photograph of the president and the player shaking hands. Nor do I recall them intervening in the statements to the club's official media.

Lamine Yamal's youth makes his magic extremely vulnerable.

I also don't recall a fellowship dinner to celebrate the season's successes where the star player was absent due to unavoidable advertising commitments. It's all very strange. And worrying. No one can ignore the importance that Lamine Yamal represents for Barça now, and especially for the future. He has appeared to lift the club out of mourning and fill it with joy. But he's only 17. Almost 18. And this superpower of his weighs heavily and is difficult to manage.

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Lamine's youth and personal background make his footballing magic extremely vulnerable. And only responsible support can protect this magic. Neither turning a blind eye, nor laughing at jokes, nor downplaying or letting things go. Responsibility. Granting great power to a footballer and demanding little or no responsibility from him is playing with a fire where everyone involved, including the player, can end up getting burned. And I was convinced that Barça had already learned this lesson.