Lamine Yamal Is Making Soccer History at Just 17 Years Old

by Ermiyas Abiy, age 9

Lamine Yamal is the youngest professional soccer player in the Union European Football Association (UEFA). He plays for the Spanish team FC Barcelona, in an offensive passing position called right wing.

Lamine Yamal, is the son of Mounir Nasroui and Sheila Ebana, who immigrated from Morocco to Spain. Yamal’s parents got divorced when he was only three years old, however, they parented him together.

Lamine Yamal was born on July 16, 2007. He first joined FC Barcelona at the very young age of seven, after playing for a local club, CF La Torreta. While he was at both clubs, he surprisingly surpassed the age categories faster than anybody else in his whole generation.

The 17-year-old prodigy’s signature celebration is when he signals 3-0-4 with his fingers. These are the postal code numbers of the place he grew up. Lamine Yamal does this celebration to raise awareness for the rough Spanish neighborhood Rocafonda in Mataro, Catalonia.

When Yamal was playing as a forward for Barcelona’s under-19 team, he began training with the first team at the insistence of FC Barcelona's coach and former player, Xavi Hernandez. In April 2023, Lamine made his debut on the FC Barcelona team at 15 years, nine months, and 16 days old. This officially made Lamine Yamal the youngest player ever to represent Barca.

In October 2023, Yamal signed a contract with FC Barcelona saying that if another team wanted to recruit him, they would have to pay the club €1 billion ($ 1.1 billion).

Lamine continued to play with the first team through the pre-season. Once it became the regular season, even though Lamine was registered with the B squad, he became a regular presence in the first team squad. In the 2023-2024 season, Lamine Yamal set a whole host of records. He was the youngest player to reach 50 appearances. He also set other records including goal-scoring and assists. In the whole season, Lamine Yamal scored seven goals.

While on an international level, the winger became the youngest player to ever play on the Spanish national soccer team. He also became their youngest goal scorer. In 2024, he also became the youngest soccer player to make an appearance in the European Championships, playing for the Spain national team against Croatia at 16 years old. The prodigy then became the youngest player ever to appear in a major tournament final and win it.

In October 2024, Lamine was awarded the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or gala in Paris, France. This made him the youngest player to receive the award. For the 2024-2025 season, Yamal’s salary is an astonishing €1,670,000 ($1,850,000 ).

Lamine Yamal has achieved great accomplishments in soccer at a young age. He has changed the game of soccer and inspired many. His name will be remembered throughout all of soccer history. This is just the beginning of an up-and-coming soccer icon.

[Source: FC Barcelona]