Lamine Yamal brings "304" roots to FC Barcelona

Lamine Yamal, a star winger who recently finished second in the Ballon d'Or, global soccer's equivalent of the MVP award, plays with a skill that belies his age. At just 18, he doesn't yet have a driver's license and still wears braces, all while amazing on the field for FC Barcelona or Barça. He made his pro debut for Barça at 15, becoming the youngest player in the club's 126-year history. Lamine knows he's dribbling rings around players with years on him."If I were a fullback, I wouldn't like it if a player who's much better than me were to keep getting away from me all the time. I'd ask them 'please slow down a little,' otherwise my friends would make memes about it," Lamine said in Spanish. From the 304 to BarçaLamine, who was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and Equatorial Guinean mother, started playing soccer from a young age. He grew up in Rocafonda, a struggling North African immigrant enclave northeast of Barcelona. There, he honed his skills on a concrete slab that doubled as a soccer pitch–just a short kick from the Mediterranean. Lamine Yamal 60 Minutes "It was a neighborhood where no one knew what was going to happen in their lives. The truth is, no one knew whether they would become a soccer player, an architect, a painter, or whether they'd find a job," Lamine said. "You see your parents working, they can't be with you all the time, and you feel, not nervous, but uncertain about what's going to happen to you." Just blocks from the makeshift soccer pitch, Lamine's uncle Abdul runs the LY 304 Cafe. "Lamine was very savvy as a child, doing everything on his own," Abdul said in Spanish. "He has the maturity of a 25- or 30-year-old."Barcelona scouts spotted Lamine when he was just 6. Soon, he was taking the train to practice at La Masia, Barça's famed youth academy. Today, after Lamine scores a goal, he acknowledges the old neighborhood by flashing a 304 — the symbol for his neighborhood's ZIP code.  The Lionel Messi-Lamine Yamal connectionFor believers in the soccer gods, Lamine Yamal's ascent to the upper echelons of the sport could almost seem predestined with Lamine anointed by a Barça icon — Lionel Messi. As a child, Lamine's family won a raffle to appear alongside an FC Barcelona player in a UNICEF calendar, and in October of 2007, photographer Joan Monfort captured pictures of a chubby-cheeked, 3-month-old Lamine in a blue plastic tub being given a bath by none other than Lionel Messi, then 20. Today, Lamine is regularly compared to Messi, who played for Barça from 2004 to 2021 and has won eight Ballons d'Or over his career."He's the best in history," Lamine said. "We both know I don't want to be Messi, and Messi knows I don't want to be him. I want to follow my own path, and that's it.""Intoxicating to watch"In his short time playing professionally, Lamine has enraptured soccer purists like 70-year-old Ray Hudson, a former pro player, coach and broadcaster who's covered Lamine's games. "He's extremely, extremely, extremely good," Hudson said of Lamine Yamal. "This is an absolute uncut diamond."Lamine, who Hudson describes as "intoxicating to watch," can be a challenge to defend against with his dribbling skill and unpredictability. "[Defenders] have to ignore him, which is ridiculous," Hudson said. "Because once Yamal sends you the wrong way with that wonderful feign that he has, the defender has to pay to get back into the stadium." Ray Hudson 60 Minutes Fans say Lamine can make magic happen when the game tightens. It's an ability Lamine said he developed when he played growing up in his old neighborhood."There were, like, walls where people would sit, and I think there was no better feeling than getting the people who were sitting there to stand up, to laugh at the opponents," Lamine said. "I think it's the best feeling in the world and something that reminds me of that a lot is when I'm playing on the field and the fans get up and are surprised by a play I've made."Lamine said he likes to brighten people's days with his playing. "If someone is sad, they can come to a game, watch me and feel better, so they go home happier than they were before," he said.How Lamine is managing super stardom at 18Some people have worried about the demands on Lamine as a young player. Lamine said he has a support team ready to tell him "no" and call him out when needed. "The truth is that everyone says 'No.' Everyone in my circle says 'No' to everything," Lamine said. "If I want to go out: 'No.' If I say that I want to go out to eat: 'No.' The question should be: 'Who do you listen to?' My mother." Still, Lamine said it's impossible for him to be a normal 18-year-old."In the end, an 18-year-old kid gets out of school and goes home. I go out to practice while four paparazzi are at my house asking me questions about my life. I turn on the TV, and I'm on TV," Lamine said. "I walk down the street, and I see a kid wearing my jersey. I want to go out for a drink, and I can't because people will stop me."He described finding some normalcy in simple things, like playing video games and spending time with his brother. Still, Lamine said he doesn't mind being a star, "No, honestly, I don't. In fact, I like it."When asked if Spain would win the 2026 World Cup, Lamine Yamal didn't equivocate. He told 60 Minutes, "In English? Yes." 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