Lamine Yamal reveals why he chose to represent Spain instead of Morocco

Martin Macdonald

• 1 Dec 2025 10:01 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

Lamine Yamal says he considered representing Morocco instead of Spain at international level but the eventual decision to play for La Roja was an easy one.

The 18-year-old is currently the golden boy of both Spain and club Barcelona and even at his young age he is considered one of the very best players in the world.

In the 2025 Ballon d'Or rankings, he finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele.

In 2023 he was called up to represent Spain and in doing so became the nation's youngest ever player to feature at senior level. He would go on to win the 2024 European Championships and, despite being eligible to pay for Morocco through his father, he says it was the prospect of playing in that tournament that sealed his national team allegiance.

Will Spain win the World Cup next summer? Lamine Yamal answers this question. https://t.co/LuMrpBxdZX pic.twitter.com/zMbApt2Rg3

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) December 1, 2025

“The truth is that it was something strange because it was something on my mind: ’Hey, I could play with Morocco,’” Yamal said in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes.

“Morocco had just reached the semifinals of the World Cup [in Qatar in 2022], but in the moment, the truth is, I never had a doubt honestly.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the Euros. I think European football is watched more. I think that it’s closer to the international level. And in the end, playing for Barça, I wanted to be close to being able to win the Euros.”

Yamal, naturally, still has an affinity for the country of his father's birth.

“I will always have affection for Morocco. It’s my country too, and the truth is that there would have been nothing strange or bad about playing for them,” he explained.

“In the end, I did have that handicap that Spain was playing in the Euros. I grew up in Spain. I also feel it’s my country.”

Lamine Yamal: I don't want to be Lionel Messi

The comparisons between Yamal and the legendary Lionel Messi are only natural as they both looked like future superstars at a very young age and both came through Barcelona's famed La Masia academy.

However, the young Spaniard wants to forge his own path.

"I think that I respect him, in the end, for what he's been, for what he is to soccer, and if we ever meet one day on a soccer field, there'll be that mutual respect," he said when asked about the Messi comparisons.

"He's the best in history. We both know I don't want to be Messi, and Messi knows I don't want to be him. I want to follow my own path, and that's it."

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