Which records has Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal broken? List of achievements smashed by young Spain winger so far

In the spring of 2023, there were whispers that a 15-year-old Yamal could feature for Barca's first team. The Blaugrana had injuries on the wing, with Ousmane Dembele struggling for fitness and Raphinha in need of backup, so Xavi named the teenager to a handful of matchday squads.

And on April 29 that year, Yamal got his chance. The youngster entered the fray against Real Betis in the 83rd minute, put a shot on target and showed, in flashes, the kind of spark he can provide to Xavi's side. And at 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old, he shattered the record of 16 years, 9 months and 25 days held by another La Masia starlet, Ansu Fati.

Yamal didn't need too long to start providing an attacking outlet for the team once his Barcelona career got going. After making a crucial cameo appearance against Tottenham to help Barca win the Joan Gamper trophy, he played his way into Xavi's plans for the 2023-24 campaign.

He was, accordingly, rewarded with a start. With Raphinha suspended and Ousmane Dembele leaving for PSG, Yamal was brought into the XI for Barca's clash with Cadiz on August 20. The teenager, at 16 years and 38 days old, played as a right-wing-back and was immensely influential as the Blaugrana earned three points against a dogged Cadiz side. He wasn't only the youngest player in history to start for Barcelona - Yamal also bested the previous La Liga record, held by Fabrice Olinga, by three months.

And after impressing on his first start, Yamal did enough to stay around the squad — even when those around him found fitness.

His first big key performance for the Blaugrana came against Villarreal when he grabbed an assist, which helped the Balugrana to a chaotic 4-3 win. That assist, a fine angled ball to the far post, made him the youngest to set up a Liga goal in the 21st century, at 16 years and 45 days, beating a record previously held by 16-year-old Juanmi Jimenez, who assisted for Malaga in 2010.

Xavi admitted in the weeks after the Villarreal game that he wanted to give Yamal intermittent rest and wouldn't commit to starting the teenager on a regular basis.

However, as injuries hit, and Yamal continued to find form, the manager's hand was forced. He started Yamal in the Barcelona's second 2023-24 Champions League fixture, naming him in the first XI for a tricky fixture against Porto. And although the winger didn't score or assist, he was among his side's most viable attacking threats in a 1-0 win.

While wasn't the youngest player to appear in a Champions League contest — Youssoufa Moukoko had only just celebrated his 16th birthday when he came off the bench for Dortmund in 2020 — the teenager became the youngest starter ever at an age of 16 years and 83 days. He broke a nearly-30-year-old record, pipping Celestine Babayaro, who was three days older than Yamal when he started for Anderlecht in 1994.

After hitting the woodwork twice against Villarreal, and coming close on a number of occasions after that, there was a feeling that Yamal's goal was coming. And so it did, on October 8, 2023. The first one wasn't really a pretty thing. Barcelona were struggling against Granada, and the ball simply fell into Yamal's path at the back post after the defence collapsed on an off-balance Joao Felix.

But Yamal finished into an open net all the same, kicking off a comeback that saw Barca battle from a 2-0 deficit to snatch a 2-2 draw. He was 16 years and 87 days old. Not for the first time, he surpassed a record held by Fati, who scored at 16 years and 10 months in his breakout 2019-20 season.

But the significance of Yamal's first goal reached beyond Catalunyan borders. His tap-in also made Yamal La Liga's youngest-ever goalscorer, besting a mark held by the aforementioned Olinga, who found the net for Malaga in 2012, when he was 16 years and 98 days old.

It was, ironically, Yamal's last chance to break Olinga's record. At 16 years and 87 days, with an international break to follow, could only have next bagged a goal at 16 years and 101 days.

It is not only Barcelona who have picked up on Yamal's talent. A Spain call-up was perhaps inevitable for the youngster. He had been a regular for Spain's youth teams and although Morrocco were publicly interested in securing his services for their national team, the allure of la Roja always seemed as though it would take precedence.

That proved to be the case in September 2023, when Spain manager Luis de la Fuente called Yamal into the Spain squad ahead of his side's Euro 2024 qualifiers. And although he didn't start his first available fixture, Yamal came off the bench shortly before half time, replacing the injured Marco Asensio. At 16 years and 57 days old, he bested the previous youngest ever debutant Gavi, who was almost a full year older when Luis Enrique handed him a Spain cap in 2021.

Inevitably, the teenager quickly got his moment to shine for Spain against Georgia. Yamal's first senior international goal was far prettier than his maiden Blaugrana strike. His finish was appropriately reminiscent of many a goal of a former Barca right-winger, the teenager meeting a cut back at the right corner of the box, before whipping it into the far corner with his left foot.

Once again, he bested a Blaugrana teammate in the record. Gavi bagged a goal for Spain in the Nations League against the Czech Republic in June 2022, scoring La Roja's first in a 2-2 draw. At that time, Gavi was nearly 18 — almost two years older than Yamal when he first found the net.

That strike for Spain against Georgia also put Yamal ahead of some other well-known names in the footballing world. Euro qualifying has been a forum for some of the sport's biggest names and Yamal bested a number of them, becoming the youngest player to score in European Championship qualifying.

In doing so, he surpassed Gareth Bale, who bagged for Wales in 2006 from a free-kick. Also on the list? Wayne Rooney, who is now Euro qualifying's fifth youngest goalscorer after netting for England against North Macedonia two months before his 18th birthday.