Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (born 13 July 2007) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and the Spain national team. Known for his flair, chance creation, and long-distance curling goals, Yamal is regarded as one of the best players in the world. Yamal was a member of the youth academy,

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

, before breaking into the Barcelona first team squad in the 2023–24 season. He became the youngest player to be nominated for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

(at age 17) and also won the

Kopa Trophy The Kopa Trophy is an association football award presented to the best performing player worldwide under the age of 21 during a joint ceremony with the Ballon d'Or. The award is presented by ''France Football'' and is named after late French foot ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, presented to the best young player in the world. In the following season, Yamal was integral to Barcelona winning a

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

of the La Liga title, the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, and the

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

. Yamal has represented Spain internationally at various youth 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 for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

, playing an important role in helping Spain win their fourth title, while also winning the tournament's Young Player Award. He holds multiple records in his international career, including the youngest player to appear in a

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

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).

Early and personal life

Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana was born on 13 July 2007 in

Esplugues de Llobregat Esplugues de Llobregat () is a municipality of the Barcelona metropolitan area. Formerly in the ''Barcelonès'', since 1990 it has been part of the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Baix Llobregat. During recent decades Esplugues has evolved fro ...

, in the

Barcelona metropolitan area The Barcelona urban area is an urban area in Catalonia (Spain) centered on the city of Barcelona and located less than 100 km south of the border with France. With a population of over 5 million, it is one of the largest urban areas in Europ ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, to waitress Sheila Ebana and building painter Mounir Nasraoui. Yamal's mother was born in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, and his father is from

Larache Larache () is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Many civilisations and cultures have ...

, Morocco. They gave him a compound given name to honour two people, named Lamine and Yamal, who helped them financially shortly before their son was born. Yamal is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. His parents separated when he was three, although both remained present through his childhood. The family had lived in

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

, but around the time of his parents' separation, Yamal's mother moved to

Granollers Granollers (; ) is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from ...

, where Yamal started playing football at the local club La Torreta at the age of four. He would alternate between both cities to spend time with his parents. With his father in Mataró, Yamal grew up in Rocafonda, a neighbourhood described by ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' 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. At six years of age, Yamal was scouted by

and was invited to training sessions at

, signing for the club in 2014 moving to Barcelona to live and train at the academy. Growing up, Yamal's footballing idols were

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, and

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

Family

Yamal has a younger brother named Keyne (born 2022) and a younger sister named Baraa. Away from football, on 14 August 2024, Yamal's father was stabbed in a car park in Mataró; his injuries were minor, and he was discharged from hospital three days later. Police arrested four people involved in the attack.

Club career

Barcelona

Youth career

Growing up through the youth ranks of

, Yamal was soon viewed as one of the academy's best prospects. Initially added to the Juvenil A team – already above his age grade – for the 2022–23 season, Yamal was selected by

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

to train with the first team along with other youngsters in early September 2022. 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. Yamal made his first-team debut on 29 April 2023, replacing

Gavi GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a Public–private partnership, public–private global health partnership with the goal of incr ...

in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 victory against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, 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, but also the youngest to appear for Barcelona's first team since the 15-year-old Armando Sagi in 1922, over a century before. He won his first title with Barça on 14 May 2023, having been part of the squad that won the

2022–23 La Liga The 2022–23 La Liga, also known as La Liga Santander due to sponsorship reasons, was the 92nd season of La Liga, Spain's premier football competition. It commenced on 12 August 2022 and concluded on 4 June 2023. Real Madrid were the defending ch ...

, but missed the title celebration the following week due to international duty with Spain.

2023–24: First team breakthrough

Although he remained on the Barcelona Atlètic squad throughout the season, Yamal earned his first start for the club on 20 August 2023 in a 2–0 victory over

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

at the

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc and Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and also known in English language, English as the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built ...

. His first start was met with a standing ovation as he was subbed off with five minutes left in the game. In his next starting appearance, Yamal was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

after contributing towards two goals scored by

and

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

in a 4–3 victory over

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

on 28 August 2023. 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. On 2 October, Yamal extended his contract with Barcelona until 2026, with a buyout clause of €1 billion. Two days later, he started in his first match of the Champions League against

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. On 8 October, Yamal scored his first goal for the first team in a 2–2 away draw to

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and made his first

El Clásico El Clásico (in Spanish, also in lowercase letters; ) or El Clàssic (in Catalan, ), both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions he ...

appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 loss at home on 28 October. 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 The Golden Boy is an award established by Tuttosport that is given by sports journalists to a young male footballer playing in Europe perceived to have been the most impressive during a calendar year (two halves to two separate seasons). All nom ...

. Subsequently, on the ceremony day, Yamal was not present due to school. On 11 January 2024, Yamal scored in a 2–0 win over

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

in the

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

, becoming the youngest player to score in the Supercopa, at 16 years and 182 days. Yamal then played the last 29 minutes of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

on 14 January. Two weeks later, on 25 January, he scored in the

quarter-finals against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

in an eventual 4–2 loss after extra time, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history. On 11 February, Yamal scored his first brace in a 3–3 draw against

, earning the man of the match. 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 Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, against whom Yamal registered an assist in the second leg, which they lost 4–1. At 16 years of age, Yamal broke several records for Barcelona during the season, making 50 appearances in all competitions. In La Liga, Yamal became the youngest starter for Barcelona, the youngest player to record an assist, the youngest to score for Barcelona and in La Liga, the youngest player to feature for Barcelona in

, and the youngest player to score a brace in La Liga and first player ever to achieve this record under the age of 17. He also became the youngest player to register more than ten goal contributions in La Liga at 16 years and 213 days. In the Champions League, Yamal became the second youngest player to feature in the cup (behind

Youssoufa Moukoko Youssoufa Moukoko (born 20 November 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Nice, on loan from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Born in Cameroon, he has played for the Germany national team. Club career Early ca ...

), the youngest player named in a starting line-up, and the youngest player to play in the knockout phase.

2024–25: Domestic double

In the first match of the 2024–25 La Liga season on 18 August 2024, Yamal assisted Lewandowski to help Barcelona equalize against

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

before Lewandowski converted a penalty in the second half to help the match end 2–1. In the following match against

on 24 August, Yamal scored his first goal of the season in another 2–1 victory. On 19 September, Yamal scored his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

goal, netting the equalizer in their 2–1 loss to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, 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 Anssumane Fati Vieira (born 31 October 2002) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or Forward (association football), winger for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Born in Guinea- ...

, who scored at 17 years and 40 days on 20 October 2020. On 26 October, at the age of 17 years and 105 days, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in

history when he scored the third goal in a 4–0 victory against Real Madrid, surpassing the record of his teammate

who did so at the age of 17 years and 359 days in October 2020. During the match at the

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, ...

, Yamal and his Barcelona teammates Ansu Fati and

Raphinha Raphael Dias Belloli (born 14 December 1996), known as Raphinha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Brazil national team. Known for his work rate, pace, finishing and c ...

were targeted with racial abuse by a group of home supporters. On 2 February 2025, he completed 21 dribbles against Alavés, breaking Lionel Messi's record from 2007. On 30 April, Yamal made his 100th appearance for the club in the Champions League semi-final first-leg against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

. He scored the first goal in a 3–3 draw and was praised by Inter manager

Simone Inzaghi Simone Inzaghi (; born 5 April 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Nicknamed "''Il demone di Piacenza''" ("The Piacenza Demon") because of his ...

, who called Yamal "a phenomenon born every 50 years." On 11 May 2025, Yamal played a pivotal role in Barcelona's 4–3 comeback victory over Real Madrid at the

. After trailing 0–2 due to an early brace from

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Captain (association football), captains ...

, Barcelona responded with goals from Eric García, Yamal, and a brace by Raphinha. Yamal's goal, a curling shot into the bottom corner, leveled the score at 2–2 and was instrumental in shifting the momentum of the match. The victory marked Barcelona's fourth consecutive Clásico win of the season and brought them within one win of clinching the La Liga title. At 17 years old, Yamal's performances during the season led to widespread claims by pundits and players that he is the best player in the world. He is often debated as one of the favourites to win the

for the season. On 27 May 2025, Yamal extended his contract with Barcelona, tying him to the club until 30 June 2031.

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

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.

International career

Catalonia

Yamal represented the youth sections of the

Catalonia national football team The Catalonia national football team () is the official football team of Catalonia. It is organised by the Catalan Football Federation, founded in 1900. The team has been referred to by various names including , and the Catalan XI. As the Catala ...

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. In November 2022, Yamal scored an impressive solo goal in a match against

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

, 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 Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

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 was a youth international for Spain, having played for the Spanish U15 and U16 squads. In 2023, he represented Spain's U17 side in the 2023 European U17 Championship with Yamal scoring four goals during the tournament. Spain went all the way to the semi-finals where they were knocked out by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

following a 3–1 defeat. 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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and made his senior debut against the former opponent on 8 September 2023, scoring in the 74th minute of a 7–1 victory. At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he became the youngest player and goalscorer for Spain, breaking records held by

who debuted aged 17 years, 62 days and scored aged 17 years, 304 days. Apart from this, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in a Euro qualifying match, overtaking Welsh footballer

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

who scored at the age of 17 years, 83 days old. Yamal was recalled to the Spanish squad in October 2023 for the remaining Euro qualifying matches against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Spain won both matches to qualify for Euro 2024. On 7 June 2024, Yamal was selected in the 26-man squad for the tournament. On 15 June, he made his debut in the European Championship against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, becoming the youngest player to feature in the tournament, aged 16 years and 338 days, breaking the previous record of Poland's Kacper Kozłowski. During the match against Croatia he also became the youngest player to provide an assist, setting up

Dani Carvajal Daniel Carvajal Ramos (; born 11 January 1992) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right back, right-back for La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and the Spain national football team, Spain national te ...

's goal in a 3–0 victory. In the round of 16 match against Georgia, he became the youngest player to feature in the knockout phase, breaking

Jude Bellingham Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and the England national football team, England national team. Finis ...

's record, in addition to providing another assist in a 4–1 victory. He again provided a vital assist against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 Francesc Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's you ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

David Silva David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder and o ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

Dani Olmo Daniel Olmo Carvajal (born 7 May 1998) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), left winger for La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona and the Spain national ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

). He scored Spain's first goal in the 2–1 semi-final victory against

on 9 July, with a curling strike from outside the penalty area, which won goal of the tournament. He became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Euros four days before his 17th birthday, and more than a year younger than the previous record holder

Johan Vonlanthen Johan Vonlanthen Benavídez (born 1 February 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a winger. Born in Colombia, he opted to play for Switzerland, for whom he became eligible through his Swiss-born stepfather. Having made his ...

. At the end of UEFA Euro 2024, Yamal was named Young Player of the Tournament. Spain's 2–1 victory against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the Euro 2024 final made him the youngest player to win the Euros. 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 four assists. In the

2025 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the fourth season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men ...

, Yamal scored two goals – including his first professional career penalty – in a 5–4 semi-final victory against France.

Style of play and achievement

A left-footed forward with excellent passing and chance-creating abilities, Yamal is able to play either as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or a winger, notably on the right flank. 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. His ability to produce accurate crosses with the outside of his foot (known as a '' trivela'') has become one of the trademarks of his game. Yamal had a notable performance in the

, scoring a goal against

in the semi-finals and providing a total of four assists against

, and

. 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

, like many

products before him. Yamal has also cited former Barcelona player

as a major influence on his own playing style. He has been described by media sources as being the best young footballer in the world; some media outlets have praised him as the best teenage footballer ever.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Yamal goal.''

Honours

Barcelona *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2024–25 *

: 2024–25 *

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Spain *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual * UEFA European Championship Young Player of the Tournament:

* UEFA European Championship Goal of the Tournament:

U23 Player of the Season: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

La Liga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga player each month of the season. Winners Multiple winners The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at least two Player ...

: September 2024 * La Liga U23 Player of the Month: August 2023, August 2024, February 2025 * La Liga Goal of the Month: March 2024 * IFFHS Men's Player of the Month: April 2025 * Golden Boy: 2024 *

* IFFHS Men's World's Best Youth Player: 2024 * ''Tuttosport's'' The Youngest Award: 2023 * Globe Soccer Awards – Emerging Player: 2024 (Europe Edition), 2024 (Dubai Edition) *

Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...

: 2025 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship top scorer:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(4 goals) *

top assist provider:

(4 assists) *

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, a ...

* The Best

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

Men's 11:

* IFFHS Men's World Team: 2024 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Men's UEFA Team: 2024 *IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2024 *IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2023, 2024 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

Team of the Tournament:

La Liga Team of the Season The La Liga Awards, previously known as the LFP awards, are presented annually by the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) to the best players and coach in La Liga, the first division of association football in Spain. Established in the 2008–09 La ...