This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Jon Wertheim traveled to Barcelona to explore the meteoric rise of Lamine Yamal, a player many already consider the heir apparent to Lionel Messi.

Although just 18 years old, the Spanish winger last year finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting, soccer's equivalent of the MVP award. It is a significant feat for a teenager. To date, the youngest Ballon d'Or winner is Brazil's Ronaldo, who won the award in 1997 at the age of 21. 

A dynamic and increasingly dominant force for FC Barcelona, Lamine Yamal has achieved global recognition while still in the earliest stages of his professional career.

Barcelona offers a fitting stage for such a prodigy. Considered one of the most storied soccer clubs in the world, it was founded more than 125 years ago. The club even boasts its own dedicated museum beside its stadium. In time, this museum will likely feature Lamine Yamal, whose talent Barcelona scouts recognized when he was just 6 years old.

To understand Lamine Yamal's significance, Wertheim turned to Guillem Balagué, one of Spain's leading soccer journalists and Lionel Messi's biographer. Balagué said comparisons between Lamine Yamal and Messi are inevitable but premature. He recounted Lamine Yamal's own perspective after scoring a goal against Club Brugge: "I did it once. He did it a thousand times."

"That's it," Balagué said. "Still a long way. Can he do it? He's got a lot of potential…. Certainly, he looks like, out of this generation, the player that could get there."

A player rooted in many worlds

Though young, Lamine Yamal carries a rich and complex personal identity, reflected even on his boots. His Adidas cleats display three symbols: Morocco's flag, representing his father's homeland; Equatorial Guinea's flag, representing his mother's; and "304," the last three digits of the postal code in Rocafonda, the immigrant neighborhood north of Barcelona where he grew up.

Balagué calls Lamine Yamal "the face of the new Spain," a country increasingly shaped by immigration. That diversity, he said, is embraced by many, though "others will put it against [Lamine] if things go wrong."

Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup

The world will soon have a chance to see Lamine Yamal on an even bigger stage: the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Lamine told Wertheim he is eager not only for his World Cup debut, but also for the chance to perform in North America.

"I think that I have very high expectations," Lamine Yamal told Wertheim in an interview last year. "I think it's been a long time since Spain was a serious contender to win the World Cup. I see that the country is excited. I am very excited…. I feel good. I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm going to enjoy it a lot."

Despite his youth, Lamine Yamal already thinks about his public role, especially how young fans see him.

"I think that in the world of soccer and sports in general, and among common people, it seems to me that there are very few genuine people," he said. "Above all, I want to be seen as a sincere person who says what he thinks, not what people want to hear. I think it's very important to be someone who cares about his loved ones, a person who just wants to enjoy life, who, in the end, if he's got this life, tries to enjoy it to the fullest."

The video above was originally published on November 30, 2025. It was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Scott Rosann.

Photos and video courtesy of ESPN and Getty Images.