TEEN DREAM MACHINE

Lamine Yamal is the red-hot record-breaking Spanish soccer sensation who lit up Euro 2024

- MAXINE PETERS

WITH his braces and trendy low taper fade, he looks like any other teen boy.

And like millions of other soccermad 16-year-olds around the world, he watched every match of the thrilling Uefa Euro 2024 tournament, analysing the games and rooting for his favourite team.

But the similarity ends there. Because a day after his 17th birthday, Lamine Yamal helped win the final for his country.

He's the youngest person to play for Spain, the youngest to score for Spain and the youngest at a lot of other things - to play for Barcelona for a century, the youngest goalscorer and player in La Liga and the youngest to start a Champions League match.

And most jaw-dropping of all he's worth a staggering €1 billion (R20bn). That's his buyout clause with Barça it's what another side will have to fork out to the club to get him.

It's easy to forget this rising superstar is also a teenage boy who still has to do his physics homework (that's his favourite subject) and study for exams.

Yet he plays with the ease of a professional who's been at it for years, handling the pressure so comfortably that comparisons have been drawn to some of the greatest players in football history.

In the Euro 2024 semifinal he scored a crucial goal against France, helping his team advance to the final, and in the final against England he assisted Nico Williams with the opening goal, showcasing his exceptional playmaking skills.

Spain claimed a 2-1 victory and secured their fourth European Championship title. His stunning left-footed strike from outside the box against France was named the goal of the tournament.