The pitch where Spain forward Lamine Yamal honed his skills in a working-class, multi-ethnic neighbourhood outside Barcelona was buzzing with life on Thursday as locals looked ahead with pride to the World Cup final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. “Now that the moment has come when the two of them are going to play against each other, it’s incredible,” said Keba, an 18-year-old Senegalese resident, referring to Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal’s well-known admiration for Messi. Messi, 39, enjoyed the peak years of his career at Barcelona, having come through the club’s youth academy, and a viral photograph showing the Argentine with a baby Lamine Yamal, now 19, has captured imaginations ahead of Sunday’s final in New Jersey. Pedro, 83, talks in front of a jersey of soccer player Lamine Yamal displaying on the wall of Bar El Cordobes at Rocafonda neighbourhood in Mataro, north of Barcelona, Spain on July 16, 2026. — Reuters As children from migrant families played on a pitch behind a mural featuring Lamine Yam...
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal sparked rumours about a romance with Nicki Nicole after sharing a loved-up picture with the Argentinian rapper-singer. The 18-year-old took to Instagram on August 25 to share a photo of himself with the Argentine artist during her 25th birthday celebrations. The photo showed the two seated intimately together and smiling in […]