On the way to becoming a legend! Lamine Yamal becomes the youngest Ballon d'Or nominee in history

The name of Lamine Yamal is beginning to be synonymous with records. His precocious emergence in the elite has led him to 'sweep' a good part of the records achieved by footballers at a young age, among which are being the youngest debutant for FC Barcelona and LaLiga, the youngest scorer in LaLiga and Spain, the youngest starter in the history of the Champions League, among others. These marks, added to those achieved in the Euro 2024, made him the great sensation of last season, and he is already beginning to reap the rewards.

And the 2023-2024 campaign was the presentation and consecration of the winger in the elite. The footballer established himself as one of the main threats for Xavi Hernández's Barça in the last year of the Egarense in charge of the Barça team, scoring 7 goals and providing 9 assists in 50 games played. Yamal took over the right flank of the Barça attack, surprising everyone with his impressive performance at 16 years old!

However, the Euro 2024 in Germany was Lamine's ultimate showcase in the eyes of the world. Nobody believed that a youth-aged footballer could be decisive on a stage as important as the continental tournament, but the player, faithful to what he showed in his first season in the Blaugrana first team, was in charge of 'shutting mouths'. Under the orders of Luis de la Fuente, the Catalan formed a dream duo with Nico Williams and was one of the main responsible for the title won by the Spanish team, celebrating a goal and providing four assists in the seven games played with La Roja.

This brutal 'explosion' of the attacker has led him to achieve a new record. On Wednesday, September 4, France Football and UEFA announced the list of nominees for the Ballon d'Or, and the Barça star, at 17 years and 53 days old, has become the youngest player in history to be nominated for the award. The footballer surpasses Kylian Mbappé, who at 18 years and 293 days held this record, and scores a new historic milestone in his short, but dizzying, career.

On the path to legend

With his nomination, Lamine Yamal 'crushes' the records of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who got their first nomination for the trophy at 19 years and 6 months and 19 years and 10 months, respectively. In addition, everything points to him being able to surpass Ronaldo Nazario as the youngest player to win the Ballon d'Or in history, since the Brazilian won it in 1997 at 21 years and 3 months of age. Barça's 'jewel' has made history from the very beginning, and if he continues his career, he will become a legend sooner rather than later.