Lamine Yamal: The Latest Star From La Masia

Lamine Yamal is a prodigious talent from La Masia that has taken the world of football by storm. His beautiful style of play has captivated viewers across the world. At such a tender age has earned the trust of not just his manager but also the Blaugrana faithful.

With the world at his feet at only the beginning of his career, the world of football can expect more from this one-in-a-million talent. Join us as we explore the rise of this prodigious talent from the famed La Masia Academy to breaking century-old records and impressive performances.

Player Profile – Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.

Lamine Yamal possesses extraordinary skills and a versatile playing style. He has shown an immense commitment to refining and redesigning his craft. His talents thus far have propelled him to the upper echelon of world football as he emerges as a genuine football superstar.

Player Profile Overview

Early Life

Lamine was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother. He grew up in Granollers and Mataró, in the Rocafonda neighbourhood. At the age of seven years, he moved to Barcelona.

His adventure with the game of football began at a young age. He started his career with CE Mataró before getting a spot at La Masia Academy in 2019.

The coaching staff was immediately drawn to him because of his extraordinary abilities and unwavering dedication as Lamine gradually rose through the ranks. 

Lamine Yamal’s Style of Play

He is a left-footed forward with excellent dribbling, passing and chance-creating abilities,  With his technical profile, he was compared to Lionel Messi, like many La Masia products before him.

Yamal is a versatile forward who can play a variety of positions across the forward line with great success. He can play either as a centre-forward, an attacking midfielder or a winger, notably on the right flank. His possess remarkable dribbling ability, remarkable speed, and clinical finishing touch have created his reputation.

Lamine his unselfish play in providing possibilities for his colleagues. Because of his skill set, Yamal has been favourably compared to some of Barcelona’s most illustrious strikers, including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Youth Career

Lamine Yamal grew through the ranks at La Masia, he was often touted as one of the best prospects coming through the famous academy. So immense was his potential that he was added to the Juvenil A team.

Not long after that, Barcelona head coach Xavi called Lamine to train with the first team along with other youngsters in early September 2022.

As a part of an impressive core of youth players at La Masia waiting for their breakthrough to the first team, Lamine Yamal was heads above the rest of the pack. 

Senior Career

Lamine Yamal made his first-team debut against Real Betis in a La Liga encounter on 29 April 2023. He came on as an 83rd substitute to replace Gavi. He became the fifth youngest player in La Liga’s history and also the youngest player in Barcelona’s history since Armando Sagi in 1922.

Yamal’s meteoric rise to the first team saw him win his first La Liga title with Barcelona at the end of the 2023-2023 season. However, he missed the title celebration due to international commitments with Spain.

Lamine became the youngest starter in the club’s history when he played in the 2–0 home victory over Cádiz on 20 August 2023. His performance in the match was met with a standing ovation from the entire stadium, home and opposition fans alike.

His performances during the first month of the 2022-2023 season saw him win the inaugural U23 Player of the Month for August. His stock continued to rise as he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Antwerp on 19 September. He became the second youngest player to feature in the competition behind Youssoufa Moukoko.

Lamine Yamal broke Celestine Babayaro’s record to become the youngest player named in a starting line-up at 16 years and 83 days old. His first senior goal came in an entertaining 2–2 draw away to Granada.

The goal meant he became the youngest goalscorer for Barcelona breaking Ansu Fati‘s record. With that goal, he also became the youngest in history to score in La Liga breaking the record set by Fabrice Olinga respectively. Lamine became the youngest Barcelona player to feature in the El Clásico when he entered as a substitute in a 2–1 home loss.

Winning The Golden Boy The Youngest Trophy and Breaking Goalscoring Records

Lamine won the inaugural Golden Boy The Youngest trophy. This trophy is awarded to the youngest player nominated for the Golden Boy award. However, Lamine failed to receive the award in person as he had to attend school.

Yamal became the youngest player to score in the Supercopa de Espana in a 2–0 win over Osasuna. He also became the youngest player to score in the Copa del Rey by netting against Athletic Bilbao in a 4–2 loss after extra time. Lamine’s goal broke the record set by Juanmi in 2010. 

The Barcelona star broke Bojan Krkic’s record to become the youngest player in La Liga to score a brace when he scored twice against Granada in a 3-3 draw.

He is also the first player in La Liga history to score a brace while under the age of 17. Furthermore, at just 16 years and 213 days, Lamine Yamal also became the youngest player to have more than 10 goals and assist contributions in La Liga.

He was part of a youthful Barca squad that included Pau Cubarsi to play in the Champions League knockout tie against Napoli. Featuring in that tie meant Lamine had broken the previous record set by Warren Zaire-Emery.

International career

Lamine Yamal started his international career with the Spanish youth sides. He has played for the national Spanish U15 and U16 squads. Lamine was part of the Spanish U17 contingent that participated in the 2023 European U17 Championship.

On the back of his impressive performances, Spain reached the final before losing to France in the finals. However, on an individual note, the Barcelona forward starred in the tournament winning the Golden Boot with four goals.

Spanish national team coach Luis de la Fuente gave Lamine Yamal his international senior debut against Georgia on 8 September 2023. He became the youngest player to make his national team debut and also the youngest to score for the country.  At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he broke the previous records held by Gavi.

Furthermore, he broke the record as the youngest player to score in a Euro qualifying match, breaking the record held by Gareth Bale. Lamine was also part of the squad that played in the remaining Euro qualifying matches against Scotland and Norway qualifying for Euro 2024.

Is Lamine Yamal The New Lionel Messi?

Not according to FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez,  who has rejected comparisons between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi. However, the media, fans and even some managers are quick to note some similarities between the La Masia graduates. 

After Lamine scored a beautiful screamer against Mallorca which was the only goal of the game, he received rave reviews. During the post-match interview, Mallorca boss Javier Aguirre said that the talented Lamine Yamal reminded him of the former Barcelona great.

Personal life Of Lamine Yamal.

Lamine Yamal has a rich and diverse ancestry and heritage. His mom is an Equatorial Guinean, His dad is Moroccan, and he is Spanish. He is a lifelong Barca fan and like all Barca fans, He has fulfilled a dream by featuring and starring for the Catalonian outfit to world acclaim,

He progressed through the ranks at Barcelona’s renowned youth academy with his childhood friend Pau Cubarsi. Both players have maintained a good relationship from their early days at La Masia to this very day. He is also still schooling missing an Award ceremony to attend school.

Conclusion

As Yamal continues to grow and mature, Footballers’ Biographies is eagerly anticipating his future exploits and achievements on the pitch. His future is following the right trajectory and with Barcelona nurturing his talents, the sky is the limit for this superstar.