Lamine Yamal has a chance to make good on his promise of eating Marc Cucurella alive when the two face off in El Clásico on Sunday.

Among the many narratives running through the blockbuster clash at Camp Nou is the meeting of Spain international teammates Yamal and Cucurella.

Cucurella is set to make his debut in the famous fixture, having signed for Madrid from Chelsea in a €60 million ($60 million) deal at the start of the summer.

The news of the transfer broke on the eve of the 2026 World Cup when Spain’s stars were preparing for their first group-stage match in North America back in June. During one media session, Yamal was asked by Spanish radio show Tiempo de Juego if there had been any teasing between the soon-to-be enemies in training. He responded: “I told him he’ll start the first [Clásico] game and be a substitute in the second because I’m going to eat him alive.”

Yamal attempted to deliver the line deadpan, but couldn’t help breaking into a laugh.

Ballon d’Or Nominees Go Head to Head

Yamal vs. Cucurella out on the Camp Nou wing promises to be one of the most intriguing and, potentially, decisive battles this Sunday. Both players are on the 30-man shortlist for Monday’s Ballon d’Or and are among the very best in the world in their positions as right winger and left back.

There is quite possibly no better forward right now than Yamal, who became the first player in Europe’s major leagues to rack up both 10 goals and 10 assists this season with a superb individual effort in the midweek defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Cucurella, by contrast, has had a somewhat low-key start to life as a Madrid player, with Los Blancos keeping just two clean sheets so far this season.

The 28-year-old has not registered a goal or assist yet for his new side either, and looks some way off the World Cup-winning complete fullback Luis de la Fuente recently described as “sensational.”

And yet, Cucurella has a history of being a major irritant to the game’s best attackers in the big games. In last season’s Champions League encounter between Chelsea and Barcelona, for example, Cucurella put in a Player of the Match display up against his compatriot, which prompted Blues keeper Robert Sánchez to joke that his teammate “had Lamine Yamal in his pocket.”

Cucurella Set for Rough Reception

Cucurella is poised to make his Clásico debut for Real Madrid, 10 years on from his one and only first-team appearance for Barcelona.

The left back was born and raised in Catalonia and joined Barça’s La Masia academy aged 14. Though a regular for the B team, Cucurella’s sole outing for the senior side came off the bench in the dying moments of a Copa del Rey win over Real Murcia.

Since then, he has represented Eibar, Getafe, Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea, before his big-money move to Spain’s other super-club this summer.

In the heat of El Clásico, the returning academy star is unlikely to be given a hero’s hero’s welcome.