Barcelona star Lamine Yamal hits back at ‘fake’ rumours as teenager opens up on handling life in the spotlight

As his profile has grown, Yamal has quickly realised that his name alone generates massive commercial interest. He understands that sections of the media will willingly manufacture stories simply to capitalise on his immense popularity across the globe.

“I realised that in the end, what sells about me, even when I don’t do anything, is inventing things to be able to talk about them,” he noted. “So now, I take it like this: ‘Well, I didn’t know I did that, but hey, it doesn’t matter!’. I always make sure my mother is calm, that she knows I didn’t do it, that it’s false. And if that’s the case, it doesn’t bother me.”