The Camp Nou was still vibrating with the echoes of the culé victory on Tuesday night – a 3-1 against Atlético de Madrid that left Barça with 37 points and four ahead of Real Madrid in the LaLiga table – when a verbal storm broke out in the universe of Spanish football.

Dani Carvajal, the captain and veteran right back of the eternal rival, could not contain himself and launched a poisoned dart through his social networks that caught everyone by surprise.

His tweet, published at 11:45 p.m., just after Ferran Torres sealed the Blaugrana’s victory with a goal in added time, unleashed a war of words that no one expected so early in the season.

“Did Barça beat Atlético 3-1 thanks to a lucky goal in the last minute?What a laugh. Don’t forget that in the great Classics I have shown you many times what real football is. When they face Real Madrid, they will collapse as always.

‘Barça strong’? They only live on a few moments of luck — they will see how LaLiga will make them show their true colors,” Carvajal wrote, accompanying the message with a laughing emoji that only fanned the flames.

The post accumulated more than 500,000 interactions in less than an hour, with Real Madrid fans celebrating it as a battle hymn and culés responding with an avalanche of memes and criticism.

To contextualize the impact, let’s remember the game.

Barça, led by Hansi Flick, overcame an initial 0-1 by Alex Baena (minute 19) with goals from Raphinha (27′), Dani Olmo (65′) and that controversial goal from Torres in the 93rd minute, which came after a millimeter cross from Alejandro Balde and which some red and whites called a “doubtful offside” – although the VAR validated it without problems.

It was a night of redemption for the culés, who returned to the remodeled Spotify Camp Nou with dedicated fans, although with capacity reduced to 45,000 spectators due to the works.

The victory not only widened the gap with Madrid, but also temporarily silenced the doubts after a draw against Celta the previous week. But Carvajal, with his usual fierceness, saw in that victory an opportunity to remember old grudges.

Dani Carvajal, 33 years old and with 400 games under his belt for Real Madrid, is no stranger to provocations. Captain in the absence of Courtois and emblem of the Madrid dynasty with five Leagues and six Champions Leagues, the Kuwaiti-Spanish has turned spicy statements into his personal hallmark.

Let us remember his famous “Barça is the Villarreal of the 21st century” after the April Clásico, or “our pulse does not tremble” before the 2024 Super Cup.

This time, however, the tone was more personal: less of a tactical analysis and more of a direct challenge to the culé spirit.

“Barça strong? They only live on a few moments of luck”, that phrase in particular, became a trending topic in Spain, with #CarvajalPayaso accumulating 200,000 mentions on X (formerly Twitter).

Pundits like Guillem Balagué called him “desperate”, while on Cadena SER, Manolo Lama ironically: “Dani, are you already thinking about the Clásico on December 22? Don’t worry, Lewandowski awaits you with open arms.”

Real Madrid, for its part, is in a delicate moment. After drawing 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, Xabi Alonso’s team – yes, the former Leverkusen player now in charge of the white bench – travels to San Mamés today, Wednesday, to face Athletic Club.

A victory there would cut the deficit to one point, but Militão’s injuries and Vinícius’s irregularity have generated murmurs in Valdebebas. Carvajal, who is recovering from calf discomfort, used his post to inject internal motivation, but the shot backfired.

Within Madrid, some teammates like Rodrygo supported him with likes, but others, like an anonymous person on the El Chiringuito podcast, leaked that “Dani sometimes talks too much and puts unnecessary pressure on us.”

The surprise came just 15 minutes later, at 00:02 this Thursday. Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old Barça gem who came on in the second half of the game against Atleti and assisted in the 2-1 play, responded with a tweet that has become legendary.

Exactly eight words, without emojis, without embellishments, straight to the heart: “Speak on the field, Dani. We win titles.” Boom.

The message, simple but devastating, left Carvajal in a deafening silence — the Madrid player has not yet responded, and his followers on social networks have gone from euphoria to confusion.

Yamal, with his verified account @lamineyamal10, saw how the post exploded: 2 million likes in three hours, retweets from legends like Ronaldinho (“This boy is pure fire“) and even a share of Pedri with a lion emoji.

Lamine Yamal is not just a prodigy; It’s a phenomenon. Born in Mataró in 2007, he debuted with the culé first team at the age of 15 and already has 12 goals and 18 assists in LaLiga this season.

His devilish dribbling, his peripheral vision and that calmness under pressure have made him the natural heir to Messi, as witnessed by his goal in the final of the Under-21 European Championship.

But Yamal is not one of those who hides in the shadows of La Masia; He has learned to bite in the networks, always with class.

Let’s remember his response to a tweet from Mbappé in September (“Paris is not Barcelona”), or “Luck in the Champions League” after Madrid’s elimination last year.

This time, the eight words were surgical: “Speak on the field, Dani” disarms Carvajal’s bravado by reminding him that words are cheap, and “We win titles” drives the dagger into the recent wound of Madrid, which has not lifted LaLiga since 2024.

Social media exploded like a volcano. In X, #Yamal8Palabras became the most used hashtag in Spain, even surpassing mentions of the Atleti match.

Memes flooded the timelines: one with Carvajal as a boxer knocked out by a miniature Yamal, another editing the youth player’s face on Rocky Balboa’s face. On TikTok, viral videos recreated the “verbal duel” with mourning music at dawn, accumulating 50 million views.

Culés influencers like Ibai Llanos celebrated it live: “Lamine has just won the Clásico before it starts. Eight words, zero mercy.” Even in Latin America, where Spanish football reigns, portals like Olé headlined: “The kid Yamal slaps the Merengue captain.”

At Barça, the response was unanimous. Hansi Flick, at a press conference prior to the Copa del Rey match, smiled: “Lamine is young, but he knows his worth. That’s maturity.” Raphinha, scorer of the first goal, tweeted: “My little brother speaks for all of us”.

And in Madrid, Carvajal’s silence is interpreted as a tactical retreat; Sources close to the club claim that Ancelotti – no, wait, Xabi Alonso – has asked him to “tone it down” so as not to distract the team before the duel in Bilbao.

But the damage is done: the emotional gap between rivals has widened, and the Clásico on December 22 at the Bernabéu already smells like gunpowder.

This verbal affront is not just an anecdote; It is a thermometer of the season. Barça, with a Yamal that embodies the culé regeneration, leads with authority: undefeated at home and with the best defense in LaLiga (only 12 goals conceded).

Madrid, despite its cup pedigree, falters in consistency, with only two wins in the last five league games. Carvajal, with his challenge, intended to unite his people; Yamal, with his eight words, has united an entire fan base.

As Deco said in a recent interview: “At Barça, we respond with football. But sometimes, a well-given tweet is worth more than a penalty.”

While Madrid licks its wounds in San Mamés, Barça prepares to host Girona in the Cup. But all eyes are on that verbal pulse that promises to set the derby on fire. Carvajal, the warrior of a thousand battles, found in Yamal not a child, but a predator.

And with eight words, the future of Spanish football has reminded him: the throne is won on the grass, not on Twitter. Carvajal’s silence? For now, yes. Answer in the Classic? I bet so. Because in Spain, wars do not end with a tweet; They start with one.