Yamal was a member of the youth academy,La Masia, before breaking into the Barcelona first team squad in the2023–24 season. He became the youngest player to be nominated for theBallon d'Or (at age 17) and also won theKopa Trophy in2024 and2025, presented to the best young player in the world. In thefollowing season, he was integral to Barcelona winning adomestic treble of the La Liga title, theCopa del Rey, and theSupercopa de España. At 18 years old, Yamal finished as runner-up for the2025 Ballon d'Or.
Yamal has represented Spain internationally at variousyouth levels, and made his debut for the senior team in 2023, becoming the youngest player to represent and score for the country at age 16. He was selected forUEFA Euro 2024, playing an important role in helping Spain win their fourth title, while also winning the tournament'sYoung Player Award. He holds multiple records in his international career, including the youngest player to appear in aUEFA European Championship final (at age 17), the youngest player in a European Championship (at age 16), and the youngest goalscorer in a European Championship (at age 16).
His parents separated when he was three, although both remained present through his childhood.[13] The family had lived inMataró, but around the time of his parents' separation, Yamal's mother moved toGranollers, where Yamal started playing football at the local club La Torreta at the age of four.[14][15] He would alternate between both cities to spend time with his parents.[13] With his father in Mataró, Yamal grew up inRocafonda, a neighbourhood described byEl País as "forgotten, isolated and stigmatized"; he celebrates goals by making a gesture of the number 304, the last digits of the local postcode 08304. Following his success, his popularisation of the number has been credited with bringing pride and recognition to the working class community of Rocafonda.[16][17]
At six years of age, Yamal was scouted byBarcelona and was invited to training sessions atLa Masia, signing for the club in 2014 moving to Barcelona to live and train at the academy.[9][18] Growing up, Yamal's footballing idols wereRonaldinho,Lionel Messi, andNeymar.[19]
In July 2025, Spain's Ministry of Social Rights asked the country's prosecutor's office to investigate Yamal, after it was alleged that he had hired several people withdwarfism to perform at his 18th birthday party.[20]
Yamal was briefly in a relationship withNicki Nicole, an Argentinian singer, though the two separated in October 2025.
Family
Yamal has a younger half-brother named Keyne (born 2022) and a younger half-sister named Baraa.[21][22] On 14 August 2024, Yamal's father was stabbed in a car park in Mataró;[23] his injuries were minor, and he was discharged from hospital three days later. Police arrested four people involved in the attack.[24][25]
Club career
Youth career
Growing up through the youth ranks ofLa Masia, Yamal was soon viewed as one of the academy's best prospects.[18] Initially added to theJuvenil A team – already above his age grade – for the2022–23 season,[26] Yamal was selected byXavi to train with the first team along with other youngsters in early September 2022.[8][27] While still yet to sign his first professional contract with the club, he appeared to be one of the academy members to most impress the coach.[28][29]
Yamal made his first-team debut on 29 April 2023, replacingGavi in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 victory againstReal Betis inLa Liga, in which he registered a shot on target and became the fifth youngest player in La Liga's history at 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old,[30] and the youngest to appear for Barcelona's first team since the 15-year-oldArmando Sagi in 1922, over a century before.[31] He won his first title with Barça on 14 May 2023, having been part of the squad that won the2022–23 La Liga,[32] but missed the title celebration the following week due to international duty with Spain.[33]
2023–24: First team breakthrough
Although he remained on theBarcelona Atlètic squad throughout the season,[34] Yamal earned his first start for the club on 20 August 2023 in a 2–0 victory overCádiz at theEstadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.[35][36] His first start was met with a standing ovation as he was subbed off with five minutes left in the game.[37] In his next starting appearance, Yamal was namedman of the match after contributing towards two goals scored byGavi andRobert Lewandowski in a 4–3 victory overVillarreal on 28 August.[38][39] He was named the inauguralU23 Player of the Month for August as a result of his performances.[40] On 19 September, Yamal made hisChampions League debut in a 5–0 victory overRoyal Antwerp.[41] On 2 October, Yamal extended his contract with Barcelona until 2026, with a buyout clause of €1 billion.[42] Two days later, he started in his first match of the Champions League againstPorto.[43] On 8 October, Yamal scored his first goal for the first team in a 2–2 away draw toGranada and made his firstEl Clásico appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 loss at home on 28 October.[44][45] On 4 December, Yamal was given the inaugural Golden Boy The Youngest trophy, which is awarded to the youngest player nominated for theGolden Boy award.[46][47] Subsequently, on the ceremony day, Yamal was not present due to school.[48]
On 11 January 2024, Yamal scored in a 2–0 win overOsasuna in thesemi-final of theSupercopa de España, becoming the youngest player to score in the Supercopa, at 16 years and 182 days.[49] Yamal then played the last 29 minutes of thefinal againstReal Madrid on 14 January.[50] Two weeks later, on 25 January, he scored in theCopa del Rey quarter-finals againstAthletic Bilbao in an eventual 4–2 loss after extra time, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history.[51] On 11 February, Yamal scored his first brace in a 3–3 draw againstGranada, earning the man of the match.[52] In the2023–24 season, Barcelona finished second in La Liga and ended their Champions League run at the quarter-finals after being knocked out byParis Saint-Germain, against whom Yamal registered an assist in the second leg, which they lost 4–1.[53][54]
At 16 years of age, Yamal broke several records for Barcelona during the season, making 50 appearances in all competitions.[55] In La Liga, Yamal became the youngest starter for Barcelona,[35] the youngest player to record an assist,[56] the youngest to score for Barcelona and in La Liga,[57][58] the youngest player to feature for Barcelona in El Clásico,[45][59] and the youngest player to score a brace in La Liga and first player ever to achieve this record under the age of 17.[60] He also became the youngest player to register more than ten goal contributions in La Liga at 16 years and 213 days.[61] In the Champions League, Yamal became the second youngest player to feature in the cup (behindYoussoufa Moukoko),[41] the youngest player named in a starting line-up,[43] and the youngest player to play in the knockout phase.[62]
2024–25: Domestic treble
In the first match of the2024–25 La Liga season on 18 August, Yamal assisted Lewandowski to help Barcelona equalize againstValencia in a 2–1 win.[63] In the following match againstAthletic Bilbao on 24 August, Yamal scored his first goal of the season in another 2–1 victory.[64] On 19 September, Yamal scored his first Champions League goal, scoring an equalizer in a 2–1 loss toMonaco in theChampions League league phase, becoming the second youngest scorer in Champions League history at 17 years and 68 days, behind teammateAnsu Fati, who scored at 17 years and 40 days in October 2020.[65][66] On 26 October, at the age of 17 years and 105 days, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in El Clásico history when he scored the third goal in a 4–0 victory against Real Madrid, surpassing the record of Fati who did so at the age of 17 years and 359 days in October 2020. During the match at theSantiago Bernabeu, Yamal and his teammates Fati andRaphinha were targeted with racial abuse by a group of home supporters.[67][68] On 30 April, Yamal made his 100th appearance for the club in the Champions League semi-final first-leg againstInter Milan. He scored the first goal in a3–3 draw and was praised by Inter managerSimone Inzaghi, who called Yamal "a phenomenon born every 50 years".[69]
On 11 May 2025, Yamal played a pivotal role in Barcelona's 4–3 comeback victory over Real Madrid at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. After trailing 0–2, due to an early brace fromKylian Mbappé, Barcelona responded with goals fromEric García, Yamal, and a brace by Raphinha. Yamal's goal, a curling shot into the bottom corner, levelled the score at 2–2 and was instrumental in shifting the momentum of the match.[70] The victory marked Barcelona's fourth consecutive Clásico win of the season and brought them within one win of clinching the La Liga title.[71] Yamal's performances during the season provoked some claims by pundits and players that he was the best player in the world.[2][3][4][5] He won the 2025Kopa Trophy, becoming the first footballer to claim it twice, and ranked 2nd in the 2025Ballon d’Or.[72]
2025–26: Inheriting number 10
On 27 May 2025, Yamal agreed to his first long-term contract with Barcelona, tying him to the club until 30 June 2031 and to be signed upon his eighteenth birthday.[73][74]The Athletic reported that Yamal's contract could potentially reach a value of $45.3m per year gross, including wages, bonuses and contract fees, making him one of Barcelona's top-paid players.[75] On 16 July, at the contract signature event, Yamal was presented with Barcelona'snumber 10 shirt, which had been vacated uponAnsu Fati's loan toMonaco.[76]On 16 August, in the first match of the La Liga season againstMallorca, Lamine Yamal scored his first goal for Barcelona while wearing the number 10 shirt.[77]
International career
Catalonia
Yamal represented the youth sections of theCatalonia national football team from a young age, and became captain when he was 11 years old. He was captain throughout his time playing for the under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams.[78][79]
In November 2022, Yamal scored an impressive solo goal in a match againstCastile and León,[80] and later that month he converted a penalty, provided the assist for Catalonia's second goal, and received a red card in a 2–2 draw withAragon that sent Catalonia through to the "Fase d'Or" of the 2022–23 Spanish regional team championship.[79] Yamal was not called up to the squad for the Fase d'Or in 2023.[81]
Yamal was a youth international for Spain,[82] having played for theSpanish U15 andU16 squads.[27][83] In 2023, he representedSpain's U17 side in the2023 European U17 Championship with Yamal scoring four goals during the tournament.[84] Spain went all the way to the semi-finals where they were knocked out byFrance following a 3–1 defeat.[85]
At the age of 16 years and 50 days, Yamal received his firstsenior international call-up on 1 September 2023 by coachLuis de la Fuente for theUEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers againstGeorgia andCyprus,[86][87] and made his senior debut against the former opponent on 8 September 2023, scoring in the 74th minute of a 7–1 victory.[88] At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he became the youngest player and goalscorer for Spain, breaking records held byGavi who debuted aged 17 years, 62 days and scored aged 17 years, 304 days.[89] Apart from this, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in a Euro qualifying match, overtaking Welsh footballerGareth Bale who scored at the age of 17 years, 83 days old.[88][90] Yamal was recalled to the Spanish squad in October 2023 for the remaining Euro qualifying matches againstScotland andNorway.[91][92] Spain won both matches to qualify forEuro 2024.[93]
On 7 June 2024, Yamal was selected in the 26-man squad for the tournament.[94] On 15 June, he made his debut in the European Championship againstCroatia, becoming the youngest player to feature in the tournament, aged 16 years and 338 days, breaking the previous record of Poland'sKacper Kozłowski.[95] During the match against Croatia he also became the youngest player to provide an assist, setting upDani Carvajal's goal in a 3–0 victory.[96] In the round of 16 match against Georgia, he became the youngest player to feature in the knockout phase, breakingJude Bellingham's record, in addition to providing another assist in a 4–1 victory.[97]
Yamal again provided a vital assist againstGermany in a 2–1 quarter-final win, and tied a Spanish record for having three assists in the same edition of the European Championship (afterCesc Fàbregas in2008,David Silva in2012 andDani Olmo in2020).[98] He scored Spain's first goal in the 2–1 semi-final victory againstFrance on 9 July, with a curling strike from outside the penalty area, which won goal of the tournament.[99] He became theyoungest goalscorer in the history of the Euros four days before his 17th birthday,[100] and more than a year younger than the previous record holderJohan Vonlanthen.[101] At the end of Euro 2024, Yamal was namedYoung Player of the Tournament.[102] Spain's 2–1 victory againstEngland in theEuro 2024 final made him the youngest player to win the Euros.[103][104] He assisted fellow wingerNico Williams for Spain's first goal in the final, subsequently becoming the youngest player to register a goal involvement in a major tournament final and becoming joint holder for the most assists in a single euro tournament with four assists.[105]
In the2024–25 UEFA Nations League, Yamal scored two goals – including his first professional career penalty – in a 5–4 semi-final victory against France.[106]
Player profile
A left-footed forward with elite dribbling, excellent passing and chance-creating abilities, Yamal is able to play either as acentre-forward, anattacking midfielder or awinger, notably on the right flank.[8] As aright-winger, the majority of the time he likes to play with his left foot; he also has the ability to play outswingingcrosses to the far post.[107][108] His ability to produce accurate crosses with the outside of his foot (known as atrivela) has become one of the trademarks of his game.[109]
Yamal had a notable performance in theUEFA Euro 2024, scoring a goal againstFrance in the semi-finals and providing a total of four assists againstCroatia,Georgia,Germany, andEngland.[105] In this tournament, Yamal showcased his proficiency in creating chances by putting crosses towards the far-post, as well as his shot-taking and curling ability from distance.[102]
With his technical profile, Yamal was compared to former Barcelona footballerLionel Messi, like manyLa Masia products before him.[8] Yamal has also drawn comparisons with former Barcelona playerNeymar due to their similar playing style that involve a lot of dribbling, flair and chance creations.[110] Yamal has also stated Neymar to be a major influence to the way he plays.[111] He has been described by media sources as being the best young footballer in the world;[112][113][114] many media outlets have praised him as the best teenage footballer ever.[115][116] However,Steven Gerrard has stated thatMichael Owen remains the greatest teenage footballer.[117]
^"Albéniz, la precocidad y el clásico" [Albéniz, precocity and the classic].Sport.es (in Spanish). 23 October 2021.Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved15 February 2024.
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