Lamine Yamal – the 17-year-old phenom taking the soccer world by storm – has signed a six-year contract extension to remain with FC Barcelona through 2031, the Spanish club announced on Tuesday.
Yamal is coming off a breakthrough season where he scored 18 goals with 25 assists, helping Barcelona win the Spanish treble of LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa. Barcelona also reached the Champions League semifinals, where they were ousted by Inter Milan.
Yamal joined Barcelona when he was 7 years old, and made his professional debut with the club at 15 years old in April 2023. He will turn 18 on July 23. Yamal will be 33 years old when his new deal ends.
His previous deal, which included an astronomical buyout of $1.05 billion, was signed in 2023 lasted through the 2026 season. Because of his age, Yamal was permitted to sign a three-year deal at the time.
Yamal became the youngest player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or – considered the most prestigious individual award in the sport – after helping Spain win Euro 2024 last year.
He is expected to be nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or when nominees are announced in August. This year’s award ceremony will be held on Sept. 22.
Baby photos of Yamal with former Barcelona star and Argentine World Cup champion Lionel Messi continue to go viral on social media. Yamal was just a few months old, while Messi was 20 years old, when the photos were taken in 2007 by freelance photographer Joan Monfort as part of a calendar photoshoot organized by Diario Sport and UNICEF, the photographer told the Associated Press last year.
Yamal has also gone viral in social media posts featuring his 2-year-old brother Kenye. Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, is from Morocco, while his mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Equatorial Guinea.
Like Messi, Yamal started his Barcelona career with the No. 19 jersey and is expected to change to No. 10 next season.
While Barcelona isn’t one of the 32 clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States this summer, Yamal will easily be one of the most exciting players to watch with Spain during the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
