Lamine Yamal is 19 years old. He is the heartthrob at one of the world’s biggest clubs, FC Barcelona, and just lifted the World Cup with Spain.
Life can barely get better for him, and it is safe to say the forward makes more than a few footballers feel jealous of his ridiculous accomplishments. But on the other side of the spectrum, Yamal has his own idols and aspirations still, as became apparent during a recent interaction of his.
Yamal headed to the islands of St Tropez in the French riviera to celebrate his crowning as champion of the world. The summer spot as always was replete with star celebrities and footballers, the latter enjoying their annual vacation before club season returns in a few weeks’ time.
One amongst them in particular seemed to catch Yamal’s eye. In a video that has since gone viral, the teenager was captured walking up to Riyad Mahrez while he was having lunch, grinning ear to ear.
The duo shared a warm embrace and a few words with smiles plastered on both their faces. Yamal seemed to greet someone on Mahrez’ phone or perhaps the pair were taking a selfie together.
Lamine Yamal × Riyad Mahrez link up during vacations 🏝😄pic.twitter.com/e2nKxr07SE
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) July 26, 2026
The heartwarming interaction lasted mere seconds but was enough to spread like wildfire on the internet. Afterall, it symbolized the crossover of two generations of wingers equally flashy and capable of turning the game on its head.
Mahrez himself was involved in the recent World Cup as captain of Algeria. The Foxes impressively made it past the group stages before losing to Switzerland 2-0 in the Round of 32, following which Mahrez announced his retirement from international football.
Astonishingly, a massive 16 years separate Mahrez from Yamal with the former 35 years of age. The Catalan star would undoubtedly have been inspired in his childhood watching Mahrez stack Premier Leagues for the likes of Leicester City and Manchester City.
Much like Mahrez, Yamal himself has grown up playing on the right wing, their games a mix of technical brilliance with a sprinkling of magic dust. Yamal is highly adept at beating his man one-to-man and has a gifted first touch, akin to Mahrez in his heydays.
Currently, Mahrez plies his trade for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia where he continues to cement his legacy as one of the best African players of all time.
Yamal remains a long way off currently from Mahrez’s tally of 17 trophies for club and country. However, it seems only a matter of time before the Catalan star matches and surpasses his inspiration, long after Mahrez has ridden off into the sunset.
