Lamine Yamal makes promise to Barcelona fans after latest Champions League heartbreak

Yamal is determined to win the Champions League with Barcelona (Getty)

Lamine Yamal has reiterated his commitment to winning the Champions League with Barcelona, following the club’s elimination from the competition on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old forward made his pledge just a day after Barcelona's quarter-final exit to Atletico Madrid, vowing to fulfil his promise to secure European football's most coveted trophy for the Catalan club.

"We are Barça, and we will be back where we belong," the teenager declared in an Instagram post. "My parents taught me that a man’s word always has to be fulfilled...we’ll bring it to Barcelona."

Yamal, who scored one of Barcelona’s goals on Tuesday, had previously expressed similar sentiments after a 2025 semi-final loss, stating he "won’t stop" until he achieves his Champions League ambition.

Barcelona secured a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the second leg on Tuesday, but it was not enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg at home. The defeat means the Catalan club will not reach the semi-finals for a second season in a row.

Yamal's Barcelona fell just short on Tuesday (Getty)

Their last of five Champions League titles came in 2015, during Lionel Messi's peak.

Reflecting on the team's effort, Yamal stated: "We gave it our all but it wasn’t good enough. This is just part of the road. To get to the top you have to climb, and we know it won’t be easy, nor will they make it easy for us. But giving up is not an option."

He continued, "we have plenty of reasons to be excited about, and we’re going after it with everything. Every mistake is a lesson, and don’t doubt that we will learn from each one of them."

Yamal's determination appears to be inspired by his Instagram profile picture, which, as of early Wednesday, still featured LeBron James holding the NBA trophy after the Cleveland Cavaliers' historic 2016 comeback.

The young player had cited James as an inspiration for Barcelona's own comeback attempt against Atletico, where they ultimately needed one more goal to take the game to extra time.

However, the Champions League exit has also been overshadowed by significant complaints regarding the refereeing.

Forward Raphinha is likely to face disciplinary action after claiming his team was "robbed" following Tuesday's match. President-elect Joan Laporta echoed these sentiments on Wednesday, labelling the officiating "shameful" and "inadmissible”.

Laporta confirmed the club's intention to lodge a formal complaint with Uefa.

Raphinha hit out at the officials after Tuesday’s match (Reuters)

"The refereeing, both on the field and in the VAR booth, was a disgrace," he told Spanish media. "What they did to us is intolerable. In the first leg, they didn’t award us a clear penalty and sent off one of our players for a yellow card offence. The refereeing decisions hurt us a lot."

Barcelona had already raised concerns about a possible penalty in their favour in the first leg, which also saw Pau Cubarsí sent off, followed by Eric García's red card in the second half.

Domestically, Barcelona currently hold a nine-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid in La Liga after 31 rounds, with their next fixture against Celta Vigo scheduled for next week.