CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
All of Lamine Yamal’s ‘youngest player’ records with Barcelona and Spain
In LaLiga, in the Champions League and even for the Spanish national team, the Barça youngster has had a historic rise.
Barcelona return to Champions League action on Thursday, taking on Monaco in their first ‘league phase’ fixture in the revamped competition.
Head coach Hansi Flick has enjoyed a smooth start to life with Barça in LaLiga, winning all five of his first five games and boasting a goal difference of +13. One of the stars of Barcelona’s fast start has been Lamine Yamal, the prodigious youngster who only recently celebrated his 17th birthday.
With three goals and four assists in the first five games, Yamal is behind only Erling Haaland when it comes to goal involvements in the top five European leagues.
Can Lamine Yamal break the Champions League scoring record?
Exactly one year before the Monaco clash, Lamine Yamal made his Champions League debut in a 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp. That was just two months after his 16th birthday, but he didn’t quite break the record for the youngest player in the Champions League.
That distinction is held by Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, who first appeared in Europe’s elite club competition at the age of 16 years and 18 days.
Yamal hasn’t yet scored in the Champions League and has missed the chance to break the record for the youngest goalscorer in UCL history. The record is held by another graduate of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy. Ansu Fati is the youngest goal-scorer in the Champions League (17 years and 40 days).
However, there are plenty of other records that Yamal does own.
Lamine Yamal’s LaLiga scorer record
The winger’s goal in first-half injury-time against Granada last October saw him become the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Spanish top flight. Yamal, who was born on 10 July 2007, scored his first LaLiga goal at the age of just 16 years and 87 days.
This beat the previous record holder, Málaga’s Fabrice Olinga, by 11 days. The Cameroonian’s strike against Celta Vigo in August 2012 was his only first-team goal in Spain.
Lamine Yamal’s records for Barcelona
The youngest player to feature in a LaLiga game is former Real Mallorca midfielder Luka Romero, who now plays for AC Milan, at 15 years and 219 days.
However Yamal is both the youngest player to represent Barcelona’s first team (15 years, nine months and 16 days) and Barcelona’s youngest starter (16 years and 38 days). He achieved those feats on his first-team debut against Real Betis in April and versus Cádiz in August, respectively.
Spain records broken by Lamine Yamal
His persistent record-breaking is not confined to domestic action. In last year’s September international break Lamine Yamal made his international debut for Spain at just 16 years and 57 years old, scoring in a win over Georgia.
In the process he broke club teammate Gavi’s records as both youngest appearance-maker and youngest goalscorer for La Roja. His goal also saw him surpass former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale as the youngest ever scorer in European Championship qualifying.
His incredible form continued into the Euros proper and he was a key part of the victorious Spain team, recording one goal and four assists. Lamal became the youngest player to win either the European Championship or World Cup, doing so just one day after his 17th birthday.
“I am very happy, this is a dream,” the Barcelona sensational said after the victory over England in Berlin, reflecting on a historic summer with the national team. “I’m looking forward to returning to Spain and celebrating with all the fans. It’s the best birthday present ever.”