14/09/2026
๐ณ๐จ๐ด๐ฐ๐ต๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ด๐จ๐ณ ๐ต๐จ๐บ๐น๐จ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ต๐จ โจ
The Ballon dโOr account looks back today at the origin of the two first names of one of the main candidate to the award: โ๐๐๐๐๐๐โ and โ๐๐๐๐๐โ.
๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐. Itโs his second first name.
Unlike most footballers, the forward has both first names on the back of his shirt. But why?
To understand this, we have to go back to the period before his birth in Esplugues de Llobregat, when his parents, Mounir Nasraoui and Shaila Ebana, were living in the Rocafonda neighbourhood of Matarรณ. ๐ญ๐ช๐ธ
At the time, the couple was facing serious financial difficulties in covering their householdโs basic expenses.
Amid all this uncertainty, two neighbours from the area became a ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ for the couple during the pregnancy.
One of them was a Gambian-born resident who worked as a taxi driver in Matarรณ, named โLAMINEโ (meaning โ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฎ๐ฅโ in Arabic).
The other was a very close friend of African origin, named โYAMALโ (meaning โ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒโ in Arabic).
In recognition of the support the two men gave them during the most difficult months, Mounir and Shaila made a pact: to name their future son after them.
This is how he was officially registered: ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐.
Although the forward is extremely proud of both his surnames, wearing โLamine Yamalโ on his back is a constant reminder of his ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฒ.
His name therefore represents a promise kept and a tribute that will stay with him forever.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๏ธ
