Who Is Lamine Yamal's Father? Meet Mounir Nasraoui As His Son Stars At The 2026 World Cup
He survived a near-fatal stabbing in a Mataro car park. He named his son after two strangers who helped his family through hard times. Mounir Nasraoui has shaped Lamine Yamal's identity in ways that go far beyond football.
Lamine Yamal's full name is Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana, and the name itself carries a story. His father, Mounir Nasraoui, and mother, Sheila Ebana, were struggling financially shortly before their son was born in 2007. Two men, named Lamine and Yamal, helped the family through that period, and out of gratitude, Mounir and Sheila combined both names to create their son's first and middle names.
Mounir Nasraoui's Background and Life in Spain
Nasraoui is from Larache, a coastal city in northern Morocco, and emigrated to Spain as a child, settling in the working-class Rocafonda neighbourhood of Mataró, a town roughly 30 kilometres north of Barcelona. He has worked as a building painter, providing for his family through a trade far removed from the football stardom his son would later achieve. He met Sheila Ebana, a waitress from Bata, Equatorial Guinea, and the couple had Lamine in 2007.
Mounir and Sheila separated when Lamine was three years old, though both parents remained actively present throughout his childhood. Lamine split time between his mother in Granollers during the week and his father in Mataró, with his paternal grandmother Fatima, who moved from Morocco to Spain in 1990, also playing a significant role in raising him in Rocafonda. Lamine has a younger half-brother, Keyne, born in 2022, and a younger half-sister, Baraa, both from his father's side.
The Attack That Nearly Took His Life
On August 14, 2024, just after Spain won Euro 2024, Nasraoui was stabbed in a car park near a football pitch in Rocafonda. He was struck multiple times in the chest and side, with a forensic doctor at Can Ruti Hospital describing the injuries as life-threatening. He survived and was discharged from hospital three days later. Police arrested four people connected to the attack.
A Father's Influence on Yamal's Identity at the World Cup
That side of the family has shaped more than just his last name. Yamal observed Ramadan during the 2025 season while playing for both Barcelona and Spain, with both clubs adjusting his training and meal schedules to accommodate the fast. When fans aimed anti-Muslim chants at Egyptian players during a friendly in Barcelona this past March, he called it out publicly rather than staying quiet. None of that happens in isolation. It traces back to a father from Larache who kept showing up every weekend in Mataró, and a grandmother who never stopped being part of his life. That is the part of the story that does not show up in a highlights reel.