Lamine Yamal has been presented with a £10,000 gift by Barcelona teammate Raphinha.
The Brazilian took inspiration from Lionel Messi as he recognised his friend’s achievements at the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Lamine Yamal has been presented with a £10,000 gift by Barcelona team-mate Raphinha[/caption]
Raphinha splashed out on a gold iPhone for Yamal to celebrate the 17-year-old winning the Kopa Trophy.
He was presented with the award as the best under-21 player in world football.
It comes after the teenage winger won the European Championship title with Spain in the summer just a day after turning 17.
He was crowned Young Player of the Tournament for Euro 2024, having also being named LaLiga’s Under-21 Player of the Year for the 2023/24 campaign.
Barcelona were beaten to the title last season by El Clasico rivals Real Madrid, but the Catalan side were champions in 2022/23 and Yamal even got a winners’ medal in thanks for his contribution – despite only making one appearance.
That made him set a new record as the youngest champion in LaLiga history, at the age of 15 years and 305 days.
The phone, which was designed and tailored by I Design Gold, is worth £10,000.
Raphinha presented the gift in a case to Yamal, as well as having one made for himself.
He follows in the footsteps of Barca legend Messi, who made a similar gesture back in 2022.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner bought gold iPhones for the entirety of Argentina’s playing and coaching staff after their World Cup triumph.
Yamal’s gold iPhone marks his Kopa Trophy win at last month’s Ballon d’Or ceremony[/caption]
Messi had 35 items made at a total cost of £175,000 to mark their penalty shootout win over France in the final.
Raphinha’s gesture comes after he was handed a new leadership role at Barcelona in the summer.
The former Leeds man is one of the club’s five captains this season alongside Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronaldo Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri.
He has since scored 12 goals and provided ten assists in 17 appearances under new manager Hansi Flick.
Meanwhile, Yamal’s form has also continued into this term following the German coach’s arrival.
The Spain international has already notched six goals and eight assists in just 16 matches across LaLiga and the Champions League.
