A surprise: Yamal's friend behind his famous celebration 304

Lamine Yamal has hit the ground running this season. The Barcelona star is producing the sort of form that eluded him at the 2026 World Cup, proof he is right back to his best.

Off the pitch, Yamal keeps the same tight circle around him: his parents, Mounir Nasraoui and Sheila Ebana, his new girlfriend, Inés García, his cousin, Mohamed Abd, and his childhood best friend, Sohaib, who opened up about their bond on the programme TardeAR.

Spanish outlet Sport carried the comments from Yamal's friend, who was happy to lift the lid on what the Barcelona man is really like away from the cameras.

Speaking on the Mediaset show, presented by journalist Ana Rosa Quintana, he said: "Whenever we get the chance, we are together. He is like my brother."

The two go back a long way. Sohaib revealed he has known Lamine since childhood, their friendship forged in one of the parks of Rocafonda.

"Since he was six years old he has been playing football, and it was clear what he had," he continued. "I told him that if he wanted, he would be the best player in the world, but he had to know that."

Fame and success, Sohaib added, have not changed Lamine's personality or the way he carries himself one bit.

Barcelona's number 10 loves to celebrate his goals by drawing the number 304, a nod to Rocafonda and the last three digits of the neighbourhood's postal code.

That celebration, it turns out, was Sohaib's idea. "It was a match in the Copa del Rey at youth level," he revealed. "We were in the neighbourhood, and he wanted to prove himself. That is when I told him to do the 304 gesture, because we always say that number. He liked the gesture and has kept it ever since."

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