La Liga: Lamine Yamal is following in the footsteps of the club legend Lionel Messi, as the 17-year old 'Boy Wonder' is officially set to wear the iconic number 19 for FC Barcelona in the 2024/25 season. The Spanish winger is coming off a strong Euro 2024, as he became the youngest player ever in football history to win a major title with the national side. Lamine Yamal will be replacing Vitor Roque for the shirt, as the new season will get underway in August 2024.
FC Barcelona's Official Club Statement On The Announcement Of Lamine Yamal's New Shirt Number
"The uncertainty is over. Lamine Yamal, to be an official first team player this season, will wear the number '19' for the 2024/25 campaign. The teenage follows in the footsteps of several high profile players during FC Barcelona's history and it is also the number he wore during the recent Euro 2024 tournament in which he was named Young Player of the competitions after a series of performance that captivated the world of football."
"The number '19' shirt was worn by Vitor Roque last season but it has had many more tenants since the introduction of fixed shirt numbers in 1995. Lluís Carreras (1995/96), Juan Antonio Pizzi (1996-98), Patrick Kluivert (1998/99), Dani Garcia Lara (1999-03), Fernando Navarro (2004/05), Leo Messi (2005-08), Maxwell (2009-12), Martín Montoya (2012/13), Ibrahim Afellay (2013/14), Sandro Ramírez (2015/16), Lucas Digne (2016-18), Munir El Haddadi (2018), Kevin-Prince Boateng (2019), Carles Aleñá (2019), Martin Braithwaite (2020), Matheus Fernandes (2020/21), ‘Kun’ Agüero (2021), Ferran Torres (2022), Franck Kessie (2022/23) and Vitor Roque, who will get a new number this season, have all graced the jersey."
"Lamine Yamal turned just 17 on 13 July and wore the number '27' shirt last season, setting all sorts of records at Barça and for the Spanish national side. Under Xavi Hernández in 2023/24 he made 50 appearances, with only Ilkay Gündoğan on 51 making more."