In the age of social media, where a convincing edit can spread faster than the truth, Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal has become the unwitting star of football gaming’s latest viral moment.
Images circulating online show the 18 year old celebrating with a JBL speaker and headphones in Konami’s eFootball, complete with headphones, with the referee (who’s also wearing headphones) sending him off for the celebration.
eFootball has never been shy about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in virtual football celebrations. From backflips that defy physics to straight up floating on air, Konami’s free to play title has embraced the theatrical side of goalscoring joy.
But this image of Yamal x JBL celebration is clearly a fake and an amusing reference to a real life incident, when Lamine Yamal actually brought his JBL speaker into the Barcelona team hotel lobby to celebrate after they defeated Real Madrid 5-2 in the Supercopa final last season. Which is even more ironic considering the Twitter poster is a Real Madrid fan.
To further prove that the image is edited, the scoreboard shows “SSG 1-0 VIT” at 6:23, with “110 Lamine Yamal” displayed prominently, alongside “Gol Hari Ini 1” which is Indonesian for “Goal Today 1.” The original poster is Indonesian and the Twitter user has taken the post from an Indonesian Facebook account.
The choice of Yamal for this meme is no accident. At 18, he’s not just breaking records on the pitch, he’s become a symbol of football’s new generation.
In the last month, the starlet continued to be decisive for club and country, contributing goals and assists in early La Liga and World Cup Qualifier matches. However, his heavy workload led to an injury (a groin issue) that forced him to withdraw from the current Spain squad and miss some recent Barcelona games.
Lamine Yamal is expected to make his return to action for FC Barcelona soon after the international break. He is likely to get a cameo off the bench for the Derby match against Girona and likely be ready to start against League Rivals Real Madrid next week, who knows maybe we see him bring out his speaker after the match again.
