Lamine Yamal has formally been handed Barcelona’s iconic No.10 shirt, a jersey worn for over a decade by membership legend Lionel Messi.
The milestone comes simply days after Yamal celebrated his 18th birthday, and he’ll take over the shirt quantity from Ansu Fati, who not too long ago joined Monaco on a season-long mortgage.
The announcement coincided with a personal occasion honouring Yamal’s new long-term take care of the membership. His contract, signed final month, will preserve him on the Camp Nou till 2031.
“After I was a toddler, my dream was to debut for Barca, to develop up and play with the No.10,” Yamal mentioned on the ceremony.
“Each child born in Barcelona desires of that. Messi has made his means and I’m going to make mine.”
Yamal turns into the newest in a protracted line of Barca greats to don the well-known quantity, following within the footsteps of Messi, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Romario, and Diego Maradona.
Messi wore the shirt from 2008 till his departure in 2021, successful ten LaLiga titles and 4 Champions League trophies whereas changing into the membership’s all-time prime scorer.
Lamine Yamal takes Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/JQstB5Lpxh
— B/R Soccer (@brfootball) July 16, 2025
Regardless of his age, Yamal has already racked up 106 senior appearances and scored 25 objectives for Barcelona. He performed a central function in serving to Spain raise the European Championship final summer season and has established himself as one in every of Europe’s most fun younger prospects.
“I’m a bit detached to each criticism and reward, if it doesn’t come from my household or buddies,” Yamal added. “Proper now, I’m very targeted on soccer. In the end, I work for Barca and I play for Barca, however after I’m away from Ciudad Deportiva, I take pleasure in my life, and that’s it.”
Yamal had hinted on the quantity change in current weeks, sharing images of former No.10 legends Maradona, Ronaldinho, and Messi on social media.
Whereas the shirt quantity information was met with celebration, Yamal also faces scrutiny off the field. Experiences emerged this week of an investigation launched by the Spanish authorities into potential incapacity regulation violations.
The inquiry surrounds claims that people with dwarfism have been employed as entertainers at his birthday celebration.
