Barcelona forward, Lamine Yamal, has said he has been subjected to racism “a thousand times”, noting that some people make racist remarks or behave offensively without recognising the nature of their actions.
The 19-year-old made the disclosure during an interview with former Argentina international Jorge Valdano for Spanish broadcaster Movistar, as reported by BBC Sport on Friday.
Asked if he had personally experienced racism, Yamal replied, “A thousand times.”
He added, “People are indirectly racist towards you, but maybe don’t realise it. There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist and they don’t even notice.”
Yamal has faced racist abuse during his rise to prominence with Barcelona and Spain.
In October 2024, footage appeared to show the forward, Raphinha and Ansu Fati being subjected to racist abuse during Barcelona’s El Clásico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
However, Yamal said he differentiates between people identifying his race and using racial references with the intention of insulting him.
“If someone calls me Black, it’s not going to bother me at all, ultimately I’m Black, I’m not any other colour,” he said.
“Another thing is whether it’s good or bad, whether they’re saying it to offend me.”
The teenager also said he does not allow abuse from spectators to affect his performance during matches.
“But if I’m playing a match and they paid for a ticket to see me, I’m not going to get angry just because they disrespected me,” he said.
The Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia identified Yamal and Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr among the footballers most frequently targeted by online racist abuse in Spain during the final quarter of 2025.
The agency also reported that racist and Islamophobic content directed at Yamal was detected during the 2026 World Cup period.
