Mumbai, July 17: Lamine Yamal will switch to the No. 10 jersey at Barcelona, the same number Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi wore for the Catalan club. Yamal wore the No. 19 jersey last season. The No. 10 most recently was with Ansu Fati, who will play on loan with Monaco. Yamal, accompanied by his family, received the No. 10 jersey from club president Joan Laporta. The announcement comes after Yamal was criticized for reportedly hiring people with dwarfism as entertainers during his lavish 18th birthday party last weekend. Yamal sidestepped the controversy on Wednesday. Lamine Yamal Arrives With Grandmother to Sign Contract Extension Days After 18th Birthday, La Masia Product Inherits Lionel Messi's Iconic Barcelona No 10 Jersey (Watch Video).

“I'll try to build my own path, but all kids would like to be like them,” Yamal said Wednesday at the club's announcement. “All three have been incredible players, they're legends, and I'll try to follow in their footsteps.”

Having turned 18, Yamal was able to sign the contract extension that he had agreed with Barcelona in May, keeping him in place until 2031.

“My goal is to keep winning and growing,” Yamal said. “It's the club of my life. It's my home, I've been here since I was 7 years old.” Viral Video Shows Dwarves Arriving at Lamine Yamal's 18th Birthday Party; Star Barcelona Footballer Continues to Be Under Scanner (Watch Video).

“In the end I work for Barça, but when I'm away from the club's training center, I enjoy my life and that's it," Yamal said. "I'm indifferent to both criticism and praise if they don't come from my family or people close to me.”

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)