Lamine Yamal crowned La Liga's king as Barcelona dominate 2025-26

Lamine Yamal didn't waste time making a statement. On the opening day of the 2025-26 season, Barcelona's teenage No. 10 scored with the last kick against Mallorca, then took a moment to celebrate like he'd just inherited a throne. Because, honestly, he kind of had.

The kid wearing a shirt that once fit Messi, Ronaldinho, and Maradona? Yeah, that's pressure. But Yamal—just 18, called "touched by God's wand" by Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente—handled it. Barcelona ran away with the league, and when the bus rolled through the streets nine months later for the victory parade, Yamal stood on the top deck holding a Palestine flag. Not something he usually does, he'd later explain to manager Hansi Flick, but his decision to make.

The season tested him though. Injuries came. So did what Yamal described as an "internal abyss," the kind of thing that happens when you're 18 and the entire country's watching. He pushed through anyway, picking up his third league title in the process.

For Flick, it was number two. The German manager's father had died on the morning Barcelona clinched—he'd shared that news with the squad, with his other "family" as he called them. When asked if he'd ever felt so much love, Flick's answer was simple: "No, never."

Beyond the headline names, it'd been a season worth remembering across La Liga. Getafe and Rayo both made noise. There was even a fan somewhere who earned themselves a place in the awards for being, well, let's say "particularly aromatic"—the kind of character who makes these seasons stick in your memory for all the wrong reasons.

Yamal's coronation, though, that's what'll stick. The teenager who showed up ready to wear one of football's heaviest shirts and actually made it look natural.