Lamine Yamal is facing backlash over a “red flag” video of him with his girlfriend on the pitch after defeating Argentina in the World Cup final.
The 19-year-old helped his country claim its second World Cup title in history. Spain first took home the golden trophy in 2010, when he was just three years old.
However, instead of congratulating the footballer on his accomplishment, several social media users fixated on a 20-second clip from the post-match celebrations.
Image credits: marioliveirain/X
The video at the center of the controversy shows Lamine using his phone camera to fix his hair while wearing sunglasses, with his gold medal hanging around his neck.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Inés García, rubs his back and smiles at him, but he does not appear to look at her.
The young couple exchange a few words, with Lamine still not looking at her, before the footballer walks away.
Image credits: marioliveirain/X
The clip amassed 10 million views when it was posted on X by user @MariOliveiraIn, who wrote, “If you’re a woman, you know exactly what’s going on in this situation here. Lamine Yamal’s girlfriend trying to interact and him ignoring her.”
Many people appeared to agree with Mariana, as her post has received 68,000 likes.
“Power went to his head and Yamal thinks it’s cool to ignore his girlfriend. Observe his behavior,” one commenter said.
One woman simply said, “If I were her, I’d leave.”
A brief interaction on the pitch left many viewers believing that Lamine had disrespected his girlfriend Inés
Another viewer wrote that Lamine “ignored” Inés “with the same calm as someone who ignores a call from an unknown number.”
A separate group defended Lamine, arguing that the footballer was in a euphoric state following his victory and urging people not to jump to conclusions.
“The guy just won a WORLD CUP, got a ton of stuff on his mind, trying to process it all, there’s a video of that with his mom where he’s totally spaced out too, does that mean he ignored her?” wrote one fan.
Image credits: ineesgaarcia/Instagram
Sharing a video of Lamine kissing Inés after the match, the fan also accused critics of “forcing” the hate against the athlete for likes.
“He said something to her and went to speak to someone. What’s supposed to be the problem?” another comment read.
Image credits: ineesgaarcia/Instagram
Inés revealed that she met Lamine the same way many young couples do: on social media.
In a TikTok video, the influencer set the record straight about the viral story of their first encounter. According to the story, she was trying to pay for snacks at a small store when her card was declined. Lamine, a kind stranger, stepped in and covered her bill.
“I’d love to tell you some super crazy story, like I saw him at an airport, or ran into him and dropped my papers, and he helped me pick them up. Nope, nope, nope. We met on social media,” she clarified.
Image credits: inesitii/TikTok
Image credits: ineesgaarcia/Instagram
The couple was first romantically linked during a trip to Greece in April 2026, but Inés said she had known the footballer “for a lot longer than that.”
Pointing to Inés’ social media content, people claimed that she left her boyfriend of five years after receiving a message from Lamine. The influencer has denied this story, calling it “nonsense.”
On Sunday (July 19), Lamine lifted the coveted World Cup trophy at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium after making his debut in the tournament, which is held every four years.
Before becoming World Cup rivals, Lamine and Messi shared an unforgettable first meeting
For the first time in his career, he faced Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Long before they became World Cup rivals, the two shared a chance encounter that has since become football folklore.
Messi and Lamine first met in 2007, when a 20-year-old Messi had recently become a regular starter for Barcelona. Lamine, who now plays for the same club and has inherited Messi’s No. 10 shirt, was only five months old.
Image credits: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Lamine’s parents had entered a raffle organized by the Catalan newspaper Sport in conjunction with international children’s charity Unicef. The winners would have professional photos taken of their baby with a Barcelona player.
The day the family arrived, they were paired with Messi by chance.
Image credits: Evrim Aydin/Anadolu/Getty Images
“Messi is a really introverted guy. He came into the dressing room and suddenly had to take these photos with a little baby – not even a kid, a proper baby, and his face changed like he had no idea what to do!” photographer Joan Monfort said of the day Messi bathed baby Lamine.
“It is difficult for a young man, but Lamine was a very happy, smiley little baby. His mom Sheila helped us, she was a young girl and they were a very poor family, but they were very nice to work with.”
Lamine grew up in Rocafonda, a working-class neighborhood north of Barcelona
Image credits: Alex Pantling – FIFA/Getty Images
Lamine’s parents, Morocco-born Mounir Nasraoui and Equatorial Guinea-born Sheila Ebana, met after moving to Catalonia.
The Barcelona winger grew up in Rocafonda, a working-class neighborhood in Mataró, 20 miles (32 km) north of Barcelona.
Image credits: lamineyamal/Instagram
He was a member of Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, before joining the first team in the 2023–24 season.
Lamine became the youngest player ever to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or at the age of 17. He also won the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world’s best young player.
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