Lamine Yamal provided a classy assist for striker Raphinha to open the scoring 1-0 in the 11th minute of Barcelona’s Champions League match against Benfica in the second leg of the round of 16 on March 12. Then, in the 27th minute, Lamine Yamal scored a stunning solo goal himself, dribbling from the right wing to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a left-footed shot that curved into the far corner of the Benfica goal.

Lamine Yamal’s assist and goal gave Barcelona a 2-1 lead (Otamendi equalized for Benfica in the 13th minute). Before, at the end of the first half, Raphinha scored the second goal in the match, sealing a 3-1 victory for the Catalan team and a 4-1 aggregate win to book a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Lamine Yamal has scored three goals and provided three assists in nine Champions League games this season. In total, the youngster has scored 12 goals and provided 17 assists in 37 games for Barcelona in all competitions so far. Five of those goals and 11 assists came in La Liga, with the rest coming in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, where the Catalans won the title by beating rivals Real Madrid 5-2, with Lamine Yamal scoring the opening goal.

“All of this proves that Lamine Yamal is an extraordinary player, worthy of continuing the brilliant era of Messi and Ronaldo. However, what is more worth mentioning is that at the age of 17, Messi and Ronaldo, like Lamine Yamal now, have not achieved anything remarkable. Meanwhile, at the age of 17, Lamine Yamal has achieved almost everything,” AS (Spain) expressed.

Lamine Yamal and the Spanish national team won EURO 2024, was the best young player of the tournament, scored the best goal and was included in the typical squad. Won La Liga (season 2022 – 2023), won the Spanish Super Cup 2025. Broke a series of records for young players scoring goals at club and national team level, won the best young player of the year awards such as the Golden Boy award, Kopa Trophy and was the best young player of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in 2024.

This year and next year (2026), if Lamine Yamal wins the Champions League with FC Barcelona (in the quarterfinals against Borussia Dortmund or Lille), and the 2026 World Cup with the Spanish national team, he will become a unique player in the history of world football, when he won all the most prestigious championship titles at the age of only 18, just enough to sign the first professional contract of his career. Lamine Yamal will turn 18 on July 13.

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, transfer news expert: “Faced with the magical magic of Lamine Yamal, Barcelona FC is racing to this summer to sign an extremely special contract to keep their precious gem. Lamine Yamal also confirmed that he will only stick with Barcelona. Other clubs like PSG want to recruit this extremely talented player, so they should give up their intention right now.”