Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has dominated the headlines over the last few days following his 18th birthday, but not quite in the fashion he was hoping. The teenage forward has been facing backlash following the presence of entertainers with dwarfism at the event.
There was no shortage of build-up to the event, which included music stars Quevedo, Bad Gyal and Nicki Nicole, hosted 250 people at a villa on the coast south of Barcelona. Phones were confiscated for the event, but Lamine Yamal is now facing legal action from the Association of Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE).
There’s a mystery unofficial Barça pink jersey that’s incredible popular in the streets of Barcelona, and no one knows who produces or invented it. @victor_nahe pic.twitter.com/u2um5jk3cQ
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 16, 2025
Mural vandalised in Barcelona
Graffiti artist TVBoy had unveiled a fresh mural of Lamine Yamal on Sunday, the day of his 18th birthday, in which he appears in a Superman outfit with the caption ‘When the will is strong, obstacles are small.’
“It took me a week of work because I wanted to get the face to look very similar. I had already done a ‘SuperAlexia,’ so why not do a ‘SuperYamal’?”, he told Cadena SER on the same day. TVBoy has previously done murals of women’s player Alexia Putellas, also in a superwoman outfit, and Lionel Messi.
However on Tuesday night the mural was vandalised, with spraypaint and a number of words written across it, although none immediately clear.
Increasingly common theme
It is not immediately clear whether this is a reaction to the fallout from his birthday party, or simply a general attempt to vandalise the art. Previously on the Putellas’ mural, sexist abuse was written across the mural before it was painted over a second time. It is becoming an increasingly common theme, with international teammate and friend Nico Williams seeing his mural in Bilbao vandalised when it looked as though he may join Barcelona. It was restored, and Athletic Club used it to announce his contract renewal.
