7 goal contributions 

©TM/IMAGO

Barcelona have made a scintillating start to LaLiga with Lamine Yamal central to their success. After shining for Spain aged just 16 as they won Euro 2024, Yamal cemented his reputation as a generational talent and expectations skyrocketed for the precocious winger. But the youngster continues to defy his years by playing a leading role for Barcelona in establishing an early-four point lead over rivals Real Madrid.

Barcelona have won their opening five league games with Hansi Flick making an instant impact since replacing Xavi. Moreover, the Catalonia giants have done so in style, brushing aside opponents with their famed La Masia academy prominent. Yamal is undoubtedly the jewel in Barcelona’s crown and it’s increasingly apparent why the 17-year-old is widely regarded as their best academy graduate since Lionel Messi.

Lamine Yamal’s incredible start to LaLiga

Five games, five wins and seven goals scored – of which, Yamal has directly contributed to seven of those. The winger scored a brace as Barcelona blew fellow Champions League outfit Girona aside on Sunday and he was the beating heartbeat of everything good about Flick’s men. The brace took Yamal’s tally for the season to three after scoring the opener against Athletic Club in the 2-1 win but he has also provided three assists.

As the graphic above illustrates, Yamal’s seven goal contributions this season ranks him third across the top five leagues. Only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane have provided more and Yamal is still in the fledgling stages of his career. When it comes to U20 players, Yamal is comfortably clear of his competitors with Juventus’ Samuel Mbangula and PSG’s Joao Neves contributing four. It’s been an incredible 2024 so far with Yamal as he’s emerged as one of the best wingers in the world and only Haaland (29) has provided more non-penalty goal contributions this calendar year.

The incredible rise of Lamine Yamal

Yamal became Barcelona’s youngest player in 100 years when Xavi handed him his debut aged just 15 years and nine months against Real Betis in April 2023 and that started his exponential rise. He featured in all but one LaLiga game last season, scoring five goals and providing eight assists. The records tumbled for the wonderkid during his breakthrough campaign as he became Barcelona and LaLiga’s youngest ever scorer, the youngest Barcelona player to face Real Madrid and the youngest player to feature in the Champions League knockout stages.

As the graphic above illustrates, Yamal is the most valuable teenager in the world at €120 million and his market value skyrocketed last season. The 16-year-old gained his first market value on Transfermarkt of €25m in August 2023 and it rose by €95m across the course of last season. Yamal’s valuation is only heading in one direction and he’s already the most valuable Barcelona player and second most valuable Spanish player behind Rodri.