Lamine Yamal revealed unknown details of his childhood and youth in an extensive interview with Spanish journalist José Ramón de la Morena. The FC Barcelona star confessed on the podcast 'Resonancia de Corazón', where he recalled how he lived his first years in Catalonia and the very hard scare after the stabbing of his father in 2024.
Regarding his childhood and the relationship with his parents, the Mataró native confessed to being a die-hard fan of video games, his main distraction while his mother worked at night. "I remember he bought me the PlayStation 4, which, for me, was everything at that time", commented the '10' of Barcelona.
In that sense, he assured that his first dream come true was to be able to buy a house for his mother. "I asked my mother what area she wanted and she chose the house herself. It has everything she could wish for. For me, she is my queen; she is what I love the most", said Lamine.
Lamine Yamal reveals how his first years in Barcelona were
Yamal's paternal grandmother was the first to arrive in Mataró from Morocco. Later, his mother, born in Guinea, also settled in Barcelona. When the couple separated years later (they met in Barcelona), the current Barça figure moved to Granollers with his mother for a while.
That, according to Lamine, was one of the most difficult stages of his childhood, since the change of school and environment did not suit him well. I came from a school where I met the one from my neighborhood, the one from the bakery, the one from the butcher shop... and I discovered things that I did not know. I would do it differently now, but if I had not lived it then, maybe I would be wrong now".
Finally, the boy found the solution to his problems in football. His mother, in principle, did not agree that he should abandon his studies to dedicate himself fully to sports, but finally understood that it was a decision made.
"Yes, I would have liked to study a career, but I'm not made for that. I told my parents: 'if you depend on me working, we're screwed. But, if I become a footballer, don't worry because I'm going to be a footballer".
"I have had to live a lot to know what I like and what I want. I don't regret anything"
This was Lamine's first training session with Xavi's Barça
On the other hand, the 18-year-old player recalled what his first training session and call-up with Barça was like. Although he was only 15 years old, Xavi Hernández made him debut in April 2023 in the final stretch of a League that the culés won with authority.
"In training with the youth team, the coach told me that I had to go up to train with the first team. We played a match with them and I scored two goals. Óscar, Xavi's brother, asked me how it was possible that I didn't play, but to be calm. And shortly after they called me. First I was called up to a match and I didn't play; the next one I debuted against Betis", he explained.
Before his official debut, with just 15 years, 9 months and 6 days, Lamine was called up for the matches against Atlético de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano. Against Betis he played 7 minutes and, later, he was also on the bench against Osasuna.
His father's stabbing, the worst scare for Lamine Yamal
Similarly, the '10' of Barcelona recalled how he lived the regrettable incident in August 2024 when his father, Mounir Nasraoui, was stabbed in a parking lot in Mataró. Luckily, everything was just a scare that could well have changed the life of the Spanish international.
"I was in the car, I was coming from buying clothes with my cousin Moha. My cousin called me from Morocco and told me. More calls started coming in. I was a child and the first thing I wanted to do was get out of the car and go to the station to get to Mataró and see the situation, but they didn't let me go".
"Then they took me home and locked me up. It was a hard moment and the next day I had training. Then my father called and told me that he was fine and to be calm. I went to see him at the hospital the next day and everything calmed down".
The media noise for his birthday party
Finally, the 'crack' of Barcelona was consulted about the rumors in the press linked to his last birthday party. Again, Lamine Yamal made it clear that he is not bothered by the media noise, as he understands very well the price of being a football star.
"I didn't get angry. In the end it made me laugh when they tried to tarnish it in many ways... I don't care what they say about me. I've gotten used to it. In the end I've realized that, the better I'm playing, the more they'll talk", the Catalan winger pointed out.
"Have you ever seen in the world that some 18-year-old goes out partying and they say: 'wow, he's gone out partying'? Or some 18-year-old who says: 'wow, he's done this celebration'... In the end it's that I'm fine
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