In a recent interview on Espejo Público, Lamine Yamal’s grandmother addressed the controversy surrounding the 17-year-old footballer’s nationality. She spoke from Rocafonda in Mataró, where Yamal grew up saying “He was born here, studied here. That child is not from Morocco, you understand?”
Amid controversy over his decision to play for Spain, she stressed that her son did not force him to choose. “He has played for Morocco, France, and Spain… wherever he wanted,” she explained.
His grandmother also expressed her deep affection for Lamine. “I love him very much,” she affirmed during the program.
Neighbors shared their observations of Yamal. “When he comes, he wears a hoodie. I told him, ‘You’re silly, take off the hood. You’re the joy of the neighborhood,'” recounted a local woman.
Another neighbor commented on the backlash surrounding his choice to represent Spain. “His own people said he betrayed Morocco by not playing for them,” they noted.
After the controversy that followed him, the suspense is over: Lamine Yamal is now officially a player of the national team of Spain.
The young Moroccan-Spanish player opted to play for the Spanish National Team, or La Roja, as indicated by the squad list shared by Luis de la Fuente, the Spain Men’s National Team coach, on Friday morning.
This list was intended for the next two matches of the Spanish selection: the first against Georgia on September 8th and then against Cyprus on September 12th. If he plays, Yamal could potentially become the youngest player ever to represent Spain, breaking Gavi’s record set in 2021.
Lamine Yamal quickly rose in his career to become one of the youngest-ever players on Barcelona’s first team. Since then, international and football media outlets have debated whether he would commit to playing for Spain or Morocco.
Walid Regragui, Morocco’s National Team Coach, addressed questions about Lamine Yamal’s absence from his own squad list in a press conference.
Regragui stated that he and the Federation had entered talks with the young player and explained “our project” to him, but Yamal had yet to give his final decision.
The coach added that it is a personal choice and a difficult one for someone so young, especially considering the external pressure he faces.
“I would not want to be in his shoes; he is still too young to make a decision… We would like him to play for us because it would enable us to have a future star on our team.”
Born in Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain, to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, Lamine Yamal is a promising footballer who made his senior La Liga debut for Barcelona at the age of 15.
He has already played for Spain’s U15, U16, U17, and U19 teams.