Lamine Yamal has disclosed that he has encountered racism “a thousand times”, noting that some people make racist remarks or display discriminatory behaviour without recognising it.
The Barcelona and Spain forward made the disclosure during an interview with former Argentina international Jorge Valdano for Spanish broadcaster Movistar, as reported by BBC Sport on Friday.
Asked whether he had personally experienced racism, the 19-year-old replied: “A thousand times,”
Yamal said racism is not always obvious to those responsible, adding: “People are indirectly racist towards you, but maybe don’t realise it. There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist and they don’t even notice.”
The teenager has faced racist abuse during his emergence as one of Barcelona and Spain’s prominent players. In October 2024, footage appeared to show Yamal, Raphinha and Ansu Fati being subjected to racist abuse during Barcelona’s El Clásico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Discussing such experiences, Yamal said he differentiates between people identifying him by his race and using racial references with the intention of insulting him.
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“If someone calls me Black, it’s not going to bother me at all, ultimately I’m Black, I’m not any other colour,” he said. “Another thing is whether it’s good or bad, whether they’re saying it to offend me.”
Yamal also said he refuses to let hostile behaviour from fans affect his performance during matches.
“But if I’m playing a match and they paid for a ticket to see me, I’m not going to get angry just because they disrespected me,” he said.
According to the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, Yamal and Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr were among the players most frequently targeted by online racist abuse in Spain in the final quarter of 2025.
The Spanish government agency also reported that racist and Islamophobic content directed at Yamal was identified during the 2026 World Cup period.