All Episodes

July 18, 2025 18 mins
Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal has been flagged as football's next superstar.  

At just 18-years-old, he has already helped Barcelona FC to success in the Spanish league LaLiga and played a pivotal role in his home nation's triumph at Euro 2024. He's also been awarded the No.10 jersey, previously worn by none-other-than Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho. 

But the early success has come at the cost of extreme scrutiny. Yamal's lavish 18th birthday celebrations were overshadowed by the threat of legal action from a disability activist group after a group of people with dwarfism were hired to entertain guests.  

Semra Hunter has been covering Spanish football for over 15 years, and joins host Niall Paterson to talk about Yamal's stellar career so far. Plus, expert in sport psychology Professor Andrew Lane discusses the impact of sports stardom on a person so young. 

Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse 
Editor: Soila Apparicio 
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.