Lamine Yamal

Early life

Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana was born on 13 July 2007, in Esplugues de Llobregat in the Barcelona metropolitan area in Catalonia, Spain. Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, is from a village between Larache and Ksar el-Kebir in Morocco. His mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Yamal has a younger half-brother and a younger half-sister. His first and middle name honour two family friends, Lamine and Yamal, who helped his parents financially shortly before Yamal was born. As a baby he was featured in a 2007 UNICEF charity photo shoot with his future club Barcelona, during which he was bathed by a 20-year-old Lionel Messi. The photos went viral online in 2024 after Yamal's father posted one of them online. Two years later, the photos received additional attention in the media as Yamal and Messi prepared to face each other in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

An important figure in Yamal's upbringing was his paternal grandmother, Fatima, who migrated from Tangier, Morocco, to Spain in 1990. Facing financial hardship, she worked to anchor the family in Rocafonda, a neighbourhood in the city of Mataró in Catalonia. When Yamal's parents separated during his early childhood, Fatima took on a vital role in raising him, managing his daily routine and ensuring he could attend training sessions. Yamal started playing football at the age of four at local club La Torreta in Granollers, where his mother was living. He alternated between Mataró and Granollers to spend time with both his parents. His goal celebrations include a hand gesture indicating the number 304, the last three digits of the Rocafonda 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 old, Yamal was scouted by Barcelona and was invited to training sessions at La Masia. He signed for the club in 2014 and moved to Barcelona to live and train at the academy. Growing up, Yamal's footballing idols were Ronaldinho, Messi and Neymar.