Lamine Yamal: Barcelona Star Boasts Money Is Not His Biggest Motivation for Playing Football
- Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal opened up about what truly drives him on the pitch, and it is not his salary
- The 17-year-old reflected on winning both Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup, admitting he now understands their significance far better
- Yamal also revealed how his hunger for success has grown, setting his sights on becoming part of the greatest Spain and Barcelona teams ever
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Lamine Yamal has made clear that his career is not driven by money or the pursuit of personal statistics, saying the simple joy of playing football is what gets him on the pitch every week.
The Barcelona and Spain winger said players who fixate on goals and assists lose sight of what the game is really about.
Source: Getty Images
"I don't play football for money, I play because I like it!" he was quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X.
"Players who are obsessed with goals or assists do not enjoy. I play for fun, to dribble, to play one touch, two, to make a teammate who has not scored, score, for happiness," Yamal said.
The 17-year-old's comments come at a time when he is one of the most sought-after talents in world football, yet he appears remarkably grounded about the trappings of success.
Yamal reflects on Euro 2024 and 2026 World Cup wins
Yamal also opened up about how his understanding of major tournament victories has deepened over the past two years, Daily Sports reports.
When he won Euro 2024, he was so young that the weight of the achievement barely registered.
"At the Euros, I didn't even understand who I was, where I was or how important everything happening around me really was," he said.
"I could sit an exam and then play against France the next day because I genuinely didn't grasp the difference."
After the 2026 World Cup triumph, however, his perspective had shifted considerably.
His family's reaction to the victory gave him cause for thought.
"After the [2026 World Cup] final, my family were extremely happy. The problem is that they don't really know what losing is like. I go to the Euros — I win it. I go to the World Cup — I win it. It makes everything look easy. At one point I thought: 'When I don't win, they'll decide I'm no good.'"
He admitted he told his family to remain calm, saying there would be more World Cups ahead and that he still had much left to achieve.
Yamal's hunger for more with Spain and Barcelona
Despite collecting some of football's biggest prizes at an age when most players are still searching for a first-team breakthrough, Yamal insists his ambitions are far from satisfied.
He has his sights set on building legacies both for his club and his country.
"Why shouldn't we become the best national team in history? The best Barcelona? And if there is anyone in the world who doesn't rest on their laurels and isn't satisfied with ordinary standards, it is me," he said.
His form on the pitch backs up those ambitions.
Yamal had scored seven goals and contributed four assists across his first seven LaLiga appearances of the new domestic season, underlining just how quickly he has picked up from where last season ended.
Yamal pays tribute to Lionel Messi
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Yamal has paid tribute to Lionel Messi following the Argentina captain's retirement from international football, which came in the wake of his country's 2026 FIFA World Cup final defeat to Spain.
Messi's announcement caught the football world off guard, even as many had suspected he would step away from the national team after the final.
Source: Legit.ng
