Lamine Yamal

Early career

As Yamal progressed through the ranks of Barcelona's La Masia youth academy, he was soon considered one of its best prospects. Initially added to the Juvenil A team – already above his age grade – for the 2022–23 season, Yamal was selected by Xavi to train with the first team along with other young players in early September 2022. He made his first-team debut on 29 April 2023, replacing Gavi in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 victory against Real Betis in La Liga, in which he registered a shot on target. At 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old, he was the youngest player to appear for Barcelona's first team since the 15-year-old Armando Sagi in 1922. On 14 May 2023, Yamal was a member of the Barcelona squad that won the 2022–23 La Liga championship.

2023–24: First team breakthrough

Although Yamal remained on Barcelona's reserve team throughout the 2023–24 season, he earned his first start for the club on 20 August 2023 during a 2–0 victory over Cádiz at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. He became the youngest Barcelona starter in history, and was met with a standing ovation. In his next starting appearance, he was named Man of the Match after providing two assists during a 4–3 victory over Villarreal on 28 August. He was named the inaugural U23 Player of the Month for August as a result of his performances. On 19 September, Yamal made his Champions League debut in a 5–0 victory over Royal Antwerp, becoming the second-youngest player in history to play…

Catalonia

Yamal played for youth teams of the Catalonia national football team from a young age. He was the captain of the under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams. While playing for the U16 team in November 2022, he scored in a match against Castile and León. Later that month he scored from a penalty, provided an assist, and received a red card in a 2–2 draw with Aragon that sent Catalonia through to the Fase d'Or of the 2022–23 Spanish regional team championship. Yamal was not called up to the squad for the Fase d'Or in 2023.

Spain

Yamal played for Spain's U15, U16 and U17 youth teams, and scored four goals in the 2023 European U17 Championship. In September 2023, he was called up to the senior international team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers. He made his senior debut against Georgia on 8 September, scoring once in a 7–1 victory. At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he became the youngest player and goalscorer for Spain, breaking previous records held by Gavi. He also became the youngest goalscorer in a Euro qualifying match, overtaking Gareth Bale. Yamal was called back to the Spain squad in October 2023 for the remaining Euro qualifying matches against Scotland and Norway. Spain won both matches and qualified for Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 champion

On 7 June 2024, Yamal was selected for the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. On 15 June, he became the youngest player to appear in the competition, at age 16 years and 338 days.…

Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana was born on 13 July 2007, in Esplugues de Llobregat in the Barcelona metropolitan area in Catalonia. Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, is from a village between Larache and Ksar el-Kebir in Morocco. His mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Yamal has a younger half-brother and a younger half-sister. He has a compound given name to honour two family friends, Lamine and Yamal, who helped his parents financially shortly before Yamal was born. As a baby he was featured in a 2007 UNICEF charity photo shoot with his future club Barcelona, during which he was bathed by a 20-year-old Lionel Messi. The photos went viral online in 2024 after Yamal's father posted one of them online. Two years later, the photos received additional attention in the media as Yamal and Messi prepared to face each other in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. An important figure in Yamal's upbringing was his paternal grandmother, Fatima, who migrated from Tangier, Morocco, to Spain in 1990. Facing financial hardship, she worked to anchor the family in Rocafonda, a neighbourhood in the city of Mataró in Catalonia. When Yamal's parents separated during his early childhood, Fatima took on a vital role in raising him, managing his daily routine and ensuring he could attend training sessions. Yamal started playing football at the age of four at local club La Torreta in Granollers, where his mother was living. He alternated between Mataró and Granollers to spend time with…

Religion

Yamal is a Muslim and observes Ramadan, which requires him to fast from dawn until sunset for roughly a month, including on training and match days.

Relationships

Yamal was briefly in a relationship with Nicki Nicole, an Argentinian singer, though the two separated in October 2025. Following the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it was reported that he was in a relationship with Inés García.

Advocacy

After Spain's friendly match with Egypt in Barcelona on 31 March 2026, Yamal condemned anti-Muslim and xenophobic chants against Egyptian players by Spanish fans. He said the chants "were aimed at the opposing team and were not something personal against me, but as a Muslim, it is still a lack of respect and something intolerable." During a parade celebrating Barcelona's La Liga title victory on 11 May 2026, Yamal showed solidarity with Palestinians by waving a Palestinian flag. His action was praised by fans, pro-Palestinian activists, and the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, while drawing criticism from Israel's defence minister Israel Katz. In June 2026, Yamal was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, focusing on children's right to play and supporting children living in humanitarian crisis situations.