Lamine Yamal took all the headlines on Saturday, after Barcelona announced that he has been included in the squad for Sunday’s showdown clash with Atletico Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou.
In doing so, Yamal became the youngster ever player to be called into the Barcelona first team, and should he feature against Atletico, he would be their youngest ever player, aged just 15 years and 284 days.
Barcelona rate Yamal incredibly highly, to the levels of previous players such as Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. This gave an indication of the talent that the teenager possesses, but aside from that, there is very little known about him from an outside perspective.
As per Sport, his full name is actually Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana, but he is just referred to by his first names. He was born in Esplugues de Llobregat, although he grew up in Mataro and also lived in Granollers. Currently, he resides in La Masia. His father is Moroccan and his mother from Equatorial Guinea. He has played in Spain’s youth setup already, but Morocco are interested in securing his international future.
Within La Masia, Yamal is considered to be a shy and focused individual, although he was involved in an altercation while on international duty with Spain’s U17 side last month, which resulted in an in-house suspension.
Yamal, who has played for Barcelona’s U19s for the majority of the season, despite regularly training with the first team, typically plays as a right winger, although he has played as a false 9 on occasion. He is left-footed, which has led to comparisons with Rivaldo, Ivan de la Pena and Messi.
Yamal’s youth contract at Barcelona expires at the end of next season, and there is a great urgency for him to sign his first professional contract ahead of him turning 16 in July. Jorge Mendes, who has an excellent relationship with the club, is his agent.
Yamal may not see action against Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but should Barcelona get the La Liga title wrapped up before the final weeks of the season, there is a real possibility that he makes his first team debut before the summer.