Lamine Yamal’s face stretches across the façade of the Signia Hotel opposite Atlanta’s stadium. It appears on the giant screens of Times Square. It is everywhere: in campaigns with some of football’s greatest names, past and present, and in the latest advert for a global fast-food chain, alongside Ronaldinho, David Beckham and Thierry Henry. Barcelona’s No. 10 shirt has been the best-selling in the world for some time. On the day of its launch, his YouTube channel collected more than two million views. Yamal turned 19 on Monday. Already, he is among the footballers generating the greatest commercial returns in the world. According to Forbes, only a very small group of athletes earned more away from the game over the past 12 months. The figure is even more striking when set against his Barcelona salary, which does not rank among the five highest in La Liga. His value is no longer only measured by what he does on the pitch. Around him, an entire commercial universe has formed.
The question is why. What makes a teenager, still wearing braces, into one of football’s most sought-after faces L’Équipe asked Ivan Cabeza, an economist and lecturer in the Department of Economics and Business at the University of Barcelona, to explain. “He has all the elements needed to become a global sporting icon,” Cabeza said. “He made his professional debut at 16 and, by 18, had already won a European Championship and two La Liga titles. He finished second in the Ballon d’Or before turning 19 and has the potential to win it. He plays for one of the most important clubs in the world, but there is also the story behind him: the son of immigrants, raised at La Masia, becoming the face of Barcelona. It is a narrative with enormous power. Then there is the way he presents himself. Younger generations see someone who is confident, spontaneous and unafraid of the moment.” For Vincent Chaudel, founder of the Sports Business Observatory, the timing of Yamal’s rise has been crucial.
“Spain has always been a football power, but its biggest global marketing figures were not Spanish. They were Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. With Yamal, Spain can experience something similar to what France experienced with Kylian Mbappé. He arrived very young, just as the previous generation of stars was beginning to disappear. At the same time, Barcelona no longer had the financial strength to bring in established champions, so he became the symbol of the club almost immediately. The comparisons with Messi came naturally. Not only because of his football, but because Barcelona needed someone to represent what came next.” The brands followed quickly. Yamal’s appeal is not only based on his talent. Compared with Messi, he has a more expressive personality, a greater ease with the spotlight and a different kind of connection with younger audiences. “He is already one of the biggest shirt sellers in world football and he has not reached his full potential yet,” Cabeza said. “Everyone expects him to become a global icon. The biggest brands are investing in him because they believe that. Every trophy adds to his value, provided he continues to perform and maintains the right image.”
That image has not been without complications. The controversy surrounding his birthday celebrations in Ibiza last summer, when entertainers with dwarfism were hired for the party, offered an early reminder of how quickly attention can shift away from football.“Since then, he has relied on professionals to manage his communication,” Cabeza said. “Over the last six or seven months, his public image has become much more controlled.” The bigger question remains: can Lamine Yamal become the greatest sporting icon Spain has ever produced? Cabeza believes he has the possibility. “Xavi and Iniesta were extraordinary players, but they were figures within a team and they did not have the same personal charisma as Lamine Yamal. Even after winning everything, they lived partly in Messi’s shadow. In the last 20 years, Spain has had two truly global sporting stars: Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol. Nadal, above all, managed to remain at the top for more than a decade and became a worldwide icon. But football operates on a different scale from individual sports. If Yamal continues winning with Barcelona and Spain, his profile will grow enormously. The level he can reach could become comparable to Messi’s.”