In addition to winning the European Championship, Yamal was also recognized as the competition’s Best Young Player. Along with winning La Liga with Barcelona in the 2022–2023 season, he also took home the championship trophy from the U17 European Championships the previous year. The wonder kid who now many believe could be the successor to Messi’s throne, not just at Barcelona but at the pinnacle of the footballing world.
More evidence of it came from Yamal’s performance on Sunday night against England in Berlin, where the 17-year-old outplayed his rivals in the Euro 2024 final.
At just 17 years and 1 day old, he has broken Pele’s 66-year record, becoming the youngest player to participate in a World Cup or European Championship final. Pele was 17 days and 249 days old when he and Brazil won the World Cup in 1958.
Yamal, who made his competition debut at 16 years and 338 days, is the youngest player to ever appear in the European Championship finals. He has been smashing records ever since making his debut at Barcelona a little more than a year ago.
He beat Jude Bellingham’s record from 2021 to become the youngest player to compete in the competition’s knockout stages. Just four days before turning seventeen, he scored a vital goal against France in the competition’s semifinal, making him the youngest player to score in the competition’s history.
After setting up Nico Williams’ goal in the championship game, he also became the youngest player to record an assist in a major tournament final.
When Yamal joined Barcelona last year at the age of 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days, he became the club’s youngest player in a century.
At just 16 years, 2 months, and 25 days old, Yamal is also the Barcelona team’s youngest goalscorer in history. When Lionel Messi scored his first goal for the Catalans, he was a year and eight months older than the Argentine.
At 16 years and 57 days old, Yamal is the youngest player in history to make their senior national team debut for Spain. In a 7-1 victory over Georgia in a Euro 2024 qualifying match, he scored on his debut, becoming the youngest player to score for Spain as well.