Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s prodigious 17-year-old forward, has chosen to postpone the official photoshoot for his new contract with the club in order to ensure a very special guest can attend his grandmother, Fatima. Despite the fanfare surrounding his new deal, which includes a staggering €1bn buyout clause and ties him to the club until 2031, Yamal made it clear that the contract celebration would not be complete without the woman who played a key role in raising him.
Fatima, Yamal’s paternal grandmother, has been a grounding force in his life. After his parents separated when he was just three years old, she became a central figure in his upbringing. She moved from Morocco to Barcelona in 1990 with her five children, including Lamine’s father, Mounir Nasraoui. Since then, she has been an unwavering source of support for her grandson. Her influence is so significant that Yamal insisted the formal photoshoot be moved to July, when he turns 18, so that she can be present.
Yamal’s story is not just one of talent but also of humility and deep-rooted loyalty to his origins. Though he offered to buy Fatima a new house as a gesture of gratitude, she declined, opting to remain in Rocafonda, a modest, working-class neighbourhood in Mataró, a coastal town north of Barcelona. In tribute to this place that shaped his early life, Yamal celebrates goals by forming the numbers 304 with his hands the area’s postal code.
His loyalty to family and background stands in contrast to the often glamour-focused image of modern footballers. Yamal joined Barcelona at the age of six and was raised at La Masia, the club’s revered academy that has produced legends like Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andrés Iniesta. He made his debut for the first team in 2023 and quickly established himself as a rare talent with an extraordinary blend of speed, vision, and composure on the ball.
His rise through the ranks has been meteoric. He became the youngest player ever to feature in the UEFA European Championship, held in Germany, where he also scored the goal of the tournament against France in the semi-final. However, his participation had to be carefully managed due to local labour laws that prohibit those under 18 from working past 8pm. Despite these constraints, his impact was undeniable.
Yamal’s talent has not gone unnoticed. He was the youngest ever nominee for the prestigious Ballon d’Or and won the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in the world. At just 16, he broke the record for Spain’s youngest goalscorer, previously held by his Barcelona teammate Gavi.
Now, with his future secured at Barcelona until at least 2031, the club has made a statement not just about Yamal’s importance to their sporting project, but also about the type of character they want to build around. For Yamal, the moment of signing such a landmark deal is not just a professional milestone it’s a personal one. And it’s a moment he is determined to share with the person who helped guide him there.
By delaying the spotlight to honour his grandmother, Lamine Yamal once again shows that his maturity off the pitch rivals his brilliance on it.
