TEENAGE PICKS
Spain sensation Lamine Yamal, 17, goes public with TikTok star girlfriend after Euro 2024 win over England
Yamal's dad, who recently made some bold comments comparing his son to Lionel Messi, was also at the match
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TEENAGE sensation Lamine Yamal went public with TikTok star girlfriend Alex Padilla following Spain's Euro 2024 triumph.
Barcelona playmaker Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, assisted Nico Williams' opener shortly after half time in Berlin as Luis de la Fuente's side claimed a 2-1 victory over England.
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It capped a sensational first international tournament for the prodigious young talent - who became the youngest scorer in Euros history with a screamer in the semi-final win over France.
And after Spain clinched the trophy on Sunday, all eyes were still on Yamal as he cosied up with partner Alex.
Yamal was seen posing for photos with the TikTok star as they held his Young Player of the Tournament award.
Student Alex, who has more than 300,000 followers on social media, wore a Spain shirt with Yamal on the back for the match.
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The pair, who also took selfies together, have been rumoured to be a couple during the tournament as Alex reportedly attended a number of Spain's games.
It is understood she sat next to Yamal's family for the matches.
She is also one of just two accounts the Barcelona star follows on TikTok.
Meanwhile, Yamal's dad, Mounir Nasraoui, was also seen celebrating after the victory over England.
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Nasraoui recently heaped praise on his son, insisting the teenager can eclipse the astonishing achievements of Barcelona icon Lionel Messi.
Speaking to , he said: "You cannot imagine how proud I am of my son.
Yamal destroys Rabiot on and off the pitch after France star sparked 'embarrassing' feud with Spanish teen
"I always knew that he would achieve what he has. I had total faith.
"And I have faith that he could go all the way and be greater than Messi."
Yamal has already played 51 games for Barcelona's first team, scoring seven goals and providing 10 assists.
Spain's Euros triumph marks his second major honour after winning the LaLiga title last year.
Inside the baffling, brilliant story of Lamine Yamal – from being bathed by Messi to doing homework while taking Euros by storm
LAMINE YAMAL has confirmed his status as football's next superstar at Euro 2024 - but has only been playing 11-a-side games for four years, write Jack Rosser.
Spain's incredible 16-year-old bent home the goal of the tournament so far against France as La Roja sealed the spot in the final.
But his first five years in Barcelona's academy were spent playing seven-a-side football, up until the age of 12 in 2020 when he finally got a crack at 11-a-side games.
Yamal's story is baffling, brilliant and barely believable in equal measure.
He is a boy born to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea, who turned 17 the day before the Euros final, and was cradled by footballing royalty at just six months old.
Staggering pictures of Yamal as a baby being held and bathed by Messi, taken for a Barcelona charity calendar 16 years ago, resurfaced this week.
He did not restrict his brushes with greatness to Barcelona either, with footage of Yamal as an academy player walking as a mascot with Spain and Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos at an El Clasico in 2016.
There is a touch of fate about this gem, Spain's "little MVP", as team-mate Nico Williams has dubbed him.
Yamal has been doing homework in his spare time and received exam results during the tournament. He passed, obviously.
Now he’s the youngest ever goalscorer at the Euros, also becoming the youngest player to ever start a major semi-final - claiming that title from Pele.
But it’s Yamal’s humble approach on and off the pitch that most impresses everyone he meets.
And France star Adrien Rabiot probably felt quite embarrassed as he boarded his plane back home from Germany.
He had tried to intimidate Yamal ahead of their semi-final clash – telling Yamal he “needs to do more.”
Was this good enough, then? Yamal responded with a goal for the ages and a man of the match performance.
A season which started with a pre-season game against Tottenham where Yamal excelled but was overshadowed by Oliver Skipp scoring a brace will end on the biggest stage European football has to offer on Sunday.
From being outshone by Skipp to eclipsing Pele's records is not a bad year's work - just imagine what he will do when he grows up.
Read all about the incredible rise of Lamine Yamal in full...
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