*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:42, 3 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:48, 12 October 2024 (UTC)
Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (born 13 July 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Known for his pace, dribbling, passing, crossing ability, and ability to strike powerful long-range shots, he is widely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world.[6]
Yamal came through La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy, and made his competitive debut at age of 16 in August 2023. He established himself as an integral player for the club within the next years, being awarded the Kopa Trophy in 2024 for world's best under-21 player of the year.
He has represented Spain internationally at various youth levels, and made his debut for the senior team in 2023, subsquently he became the youngest player to represent and score for Spain, aged 16. He represented them at the UEFA Euro 2024, playing an important role in helping his country win their fourth title, while also winning the tournament's Young Player Award.
His parents separated when Yamal was three, although both remained present through his childhood.[10] The family had lived in Mataró, but around the time of his parents' separation, Yamal's mother moved to Granollers, where Yamal started playing football at the local club La Torreta at the age of four.[11][12] He would alternate between both cities to spend time with his parents.[10] With his father in Mataró, Yamal grew up in Rocafonda, a neighbourhood described by El 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.[13]
At six years of age, Yamal was scouted by Barcelona and was invited to training sessions at La Masia, signing for the club in 2014[8][14] and moving to Barcelona to live and train at the academy.[11][15][16]
Club career
Barcelona
Youth career
Growing up through the youth ranks of La Masia, Yamal was soon viewed as one of the academy's best prospects.[15][17][18][19] Initially added to the Juvenil A team – already above his age grade – for the 2022–23 season,[18] Yamal was selected by Xavi to train with the first team along with other youngsters in early September 2022.[7][16] 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.[17][20]
Yamal 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 and became not only the fifth youngest player in La Liga's history at 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old,[21] but also the youngest to appear for Barcelona's first team since the 15-year-old Armando Sagi in 1922, over a century before.[22] He won his first title with Barça on 14 May 2023, having been part of the squad that won the 2022–23 La Liga.[23] Despite this, he missed the title celebration the following week due to international duty with Spain.[24]
2023–24: First team breakthrough
Although he remained on the Barcelona Atlètic squad throughout the season,[25] Yamal earned his first start for the club on 20 August 2023 in a 2–0 victory over Cádiz at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.[26][27] His first start was met with a standing ovation as he was subbed off with five minutes left in the game.[28] In his next starting appearance, Yamal was named man of the match after contributing towards two goals scored by Gavi and Robert Lewandowski in a 4–3 victory over Villarreal on 28 August 2023.[29][30] He was named the inaugural U23 Player of the Month for August as a result of his performances.[31] On 19 September, Yamal made his Champions League debut in a 5–0 victory over Royal Antwerp.[32] On 2 October, Yamal extended his contract with Barcelona until 2026, with a buyout clause of €1 billion.[33] Two days later, he started in his first match of the Champions League against Porto.[34] On 8 October, Yamal scored his first goal for the first team in a 2–2 away draw to Granada and made his first El Clásico appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 loss at home on 28 October.[35][36] On 4 December 2023, Yamal was given the inaugural Golden Boy The Youngest trophy, which is awarded to the youngest player nominated for the Golden Boy award.[37][38] Subsequently, on the ceremony day, Yamal was not present due to school.[39]
On 11 January 2024, Yamal scored in a 2–0 win over Osasuna in the semi-final of the Supercopa de España, becoming, at 16 years and 182 days, the youngest player to score in the Supercopa.[3] Yamal then played the last 29 minutes of the final against Real Madrid on 14 January.[40] Two weeks later, on 25 January, he scored in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals against Athletic Bilbao in an eventual 4–2 loss after extra time, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history.[41] On 11 February, Yamal scored his first brace in a 3–3 draw against Granada, earning the man of the match.[42] In the 2023–24 season, Barcelona finished second in La Liga and ended their Champions League run at the quarter-finals after being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain.[43][44]
At 16 years of age, Yamal broke several records for Barcelona during the season, making 50 appearances in all competitions.[45] In La Liga, Yamal became the youngest starter for Barcelona,[26] the youngest player to record an assist,[46] the youngest to score for Barcelona and in La Liga,[47][48] the youngest player to feature for Barcelona in El Clásico,[36][49] and the youngest player to score a brace in La Liga and first player ever to achieve this record under the age of 17.[50] He also became the youngest player to register more than ten goal contributions in La Liga at 16 years and 213 days.[51] In the Champions League, Yamal became the second youngest player to feature in the cup (behind Youssoufa Moukoko),[32] the youngest player named in a starting line-up,[34] and the youngest player to play in the knockout phase.[52]
2024–25
In the first match of the 2024–25 La Liga season on 18 August 2024, Yamal assisted Lewandowski to help Barcelona equalize against Valencia before Lewandowski converted a penalty in the second half to help the match end 2–1.[53] In the following match against Athletic Bilbao on 24 August, Yamal scored his first goal of the season in another 2–1 victory.[54] On 19 September, Yamal scored his first UEFA Champions League goal, netting the equalizer in their 2–1 loss to Monaco, during the inaugural matchweek of the newly formatted Champions League league phase; in the process, he became the second youngest scorer in Champions League history at 17 years and 68 days, behind teammate Ansu Fati, who scored at 17 years and 40 days on 20 October 2020.[55][56]
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 his teammate Ansu Fati who did so at the age of 17 years and 359 days in October 2020. During the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Yamal and his Barcelona teammates Ansu Fati and Raphinha were targeted with racial abuse by a group of home supporters.[57][58]
International career
Catalonia
Youth
Yamal represented the youth sections of the Catalonia national football team from a young age, and was made a captain when he was 11 years old. He was captain throughout his time playing for the under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams.[59][60]
In November 2022, Yamal scored an impressive solo goal in a match against Castile and León,[61] 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 with Aragon that sent Catalonia through to the "Fase d'Or" of the 2022–23 Spanish regional team championship.[60] Yamal was not called up to the squad for the Fase d'Or in 2023.[62]
Spain
Youth
Yamal was a youth international for Spain,[63] having played for the Spanish U15 and U16 squads.[16][64]
In 2023, he represented Spain's U17 side in the 2023 European U17 Championship with Yamal scoring 4 goals during the tournament.[65] Spain went all the way to the semi-finals where they were knocked out by France following a 3–1 defeat.[66]
Senior
At the age of 16 years and 50 days, Yamal received his first senior international call-up on 1 September 2023 by coach Luis de la Fuente for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Cyprus,[67][68] and made his senior debut against the former opponent on 8 September 2023, scoring in the 74th minute of a 7–1 victory.[69] At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he became the youngest player and goalscorer for Spain, breaking records held by Gavi who debuted aged 17 years, 62 days and scored aged 17 years, 304 days.[70] Apart from this, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in a Euro qualifying match, overtaking Welsh footballer Gareth Bale who scored at the age of 17 years, 83 days old.[69][71] Yamal was recalled to the Spanish squad in October 2023 for the remaining Euro qualifying matches against Scotland and Norway.[72][73] Spain won both matches to qualify for Euro 2024.[74]
On 7 June 2024, Yamal was selected in the 26-man squad for the tournament.[75] On 15 June, he made his debut in the European Championship against Croatia, becoming the youngest player to feature in the tournament, aged 16 years and 338 days, breaking the previous record of Poland's Kacper Kozłowski.[76] During the match against Croatia he also became the youngest player to provide an assist, setting up Dani Carvajal's goal in a 3–0 victory.[77] In the round of 16 match against Georgia, he became the youngest player to feature in the knockout phase, breaking Jude Bellingham's record, in addition to providing another assist in a 4–1 victory.[78]
He again provided a vital assist against Germany in a 2–1 quarter-final win, and tied a Spanish record for having three assists in the same edition of the European Championship (after Cesc Fàbregas in 2008, David Silva in 2012 and Dani Olmo in 2020).[79] He scored Spain's first goal in the 2–1 semi-final victory against France on 9 July, with a curling strike from outside the penalty area, which won goal of the tournament
[5] becoming youngest goalscorer in the history of the Euros four days before his 17th birthday,[80] and more than a year younger than the previous record holder Johan Vonlanthen.[81]
At the end of UEFA Euro 2024, Yamal was named Young Player of the Tournament.[82] Spain's 2–1 victory against England in the Euro 2024 final made him the youngest player to win the Euros.[83][84] He assisted fellow winger Nico 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 4 assists.[85]
Style of play
A left-footed forward with excellent passing, and chance-creating abilities, Yamal is able to play either as a centre-forward, an attacking midfielder or a winger, notably on the right flank.[7][16][17][63] As a right-winger, the majority of the time he likes to play with his left foot; he also has the ability to curve the ball to the post.[86][87]
Yamal had a notable performance in the UEFA Euro 2024, scoring a goal against France in the semi-finals and providing 4 assists against several teams, including Croatia, Georgia, Germany, and England. In this tournament, Yamal showcased his proficiency in creating chances by putting crosses towards the far-post and also his shot-taking and curling ability from distance.
With his technical profile, Yamal was compared to former Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi, like many La Masia products before him.[7][15][88][89] Yamal has also cited former Barcelona player Neymar as a major influence on his own playing style.[90]
Personal life
On 14 August 2024, it was reported by La Vanguardia that Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, had been stabbed in a car park in Mataró.[91] It was later reported that Nasraoui was in hospital in a stable condition. He wrote on Instagram that he was feeling better. Police arrested four people involved in the attack.[92] On 17 August, Nasraoui was discharged from the hospital.[93]
^"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. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
^"2023 Under-17 EURO: Top scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
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