From Moroccan Bus to Ballon d’Or Dreams: Lamine Yamal’s Inspiring Journey

His ambition knows no limits: "I don’t dream of having one Ballon d’Or, I dream of having many." A conviction he immediately qualifies, recalling that the priority remains to "win with my team." This quest for excellence has a price, that of the end of anonymity. "Before, I could go out for a drink with my friends, but now nothing anymore," he confides.

The story of his family is one of a long struggle, initiated by his grandmother. He recounts her journey, "secretly boarding a bus from Morocco," then her sacrifice, working "so that my father could come." It is on this legacy of sacrifices that his fusional relationship with his mother, Sheila, whom he describes as his "queen," and to whom he has given a house, has been built.

His greatest happiness, he says, is to see his loved ones in safety, far from the difficulties of his beginnings, marked by humility and precarious housing. "I see that my father is at peace at home, that my grandmother is at peace at home... That’s all a child can ask for."

The interview also lifted the veil on painful moments, including the knife attack on his father in August 2024. He recounts the panic and helplessness felt: "I was a child [...]. They took me home and locked me up. They didn’t let me go out."

Despite a meteoric start to his career and the trials he has faced, the young man keeps his feet on the ground. Indifferent to the controversies about his private life, he does not forget where he comes from. "I can have the biggest mansion in the world, but I’ll always be in the Play room," he concludes, referring to the console that represented everything to him as a child.