Barcelona’s new signee Ibrahim Diarra has been compared with club legend Rivaldo.
The comparison was made by the current head coach of the Mali U-17 team, Soumaila Coulibaly.
Diarra signed a four-year contract with the Catalan giants from Africa Foot Academy for a reported fee of €1.7 million recently.
The youngster will begin his development with La Blaugrana’s reserve team, Barca Athletic.
The 18-year-old was impressive for Mali in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scoring five goals and providing seven assists.
Soumaila Coulibaly said in an interview with Spanish publication Sport, “He reminds me of Rivaldo or Lamine Yamal. Left-footers with similar characteristics.
“For me, he is the greatest talent in Mali right now, without a doubt.
“Left-footed, powerful, with good one-on-one and moves very well between the lines, between the defence, to break the game when the opponent is compact and crouched at the back. A situation that Barça often encounters.”
