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Lamine Yamal’s rise has been a startlingly quick one, with the wonderkid now a household name after a stunning equaliser against France in the semi-final of Euro 2024.
The Barcelona-born talent made his debut for the Blaugrana at just 15 years old in April 2023, and he’ll turn 17 on 13 July, just one day before the Euro 2024 final.
His performances for Barcelona have been attracting attention since the start of the season, but his goal against Les Bleus has likely catapulted him to a new level of fame and adulation (especially amongst Spain fans) as he became the youngest scorer in tournament history.
And like many up-and-coming stars, Yamal has already created a trademark celebration – one linked to his childhood and home neighbourhood.
After scoring, Yamal can often be seen making a hand gesture showing the numbers ‘304’, which are the last three numbers of the postcode for Rocafonda, the neighbourhood he grew up in near Barcelona.
Yamal can frequently be seen using the gesture in promotional material and ad campaigns, and his father, Mounir Nasroui, carries the numbers in his Instagram handle.
Rocafonda, part of the town of Mataró around 40 minutes northeast of Barcelona, is one of the most impoverished neighbourhoods in Catalonia, and has previously been the subject of derogatory comments from Vox, a far-right political party in Spain. Yamal’s father was fined €600 for throwing eggs at a Vox campaign tent in May 2023.
Yamal’s family was in attendance for the win against France, with videos of his mother and sister crying after he scored circulating on social media.
And the youngster’s Spain side will face either the Netherlands or England in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final in Berlin, with Yamal hoping to make his mark on the tournament once again.
