2024 has undoubtedly been Lamine Yamal’s year. While he was already known in the football world, his performances with FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team catapulted him to international fame. As a result, the 17-year-old winger has become the most searched footballer on Google Spain over the past 12 months.
In Google’s 2024 trends ranking, which reflects society’s interests and defining moments of the year, Lamine Yamal topped the footballers’ subcategory. He outperformed fellow Spaniards Nico Williams, Marc Cucurella, Dani Olmo, and Alvaro Morata, who followed him in that order.
Yamal reached his peak search popularity on Google Spain between July 7 and 13, during the knockout stages of the European Championship, where Spain ultimately claimed the title.
At just 17, Yamal has become the youngest footballer to achieve such recognition, surpassing Neymar Jr., who was the most searched footballer in 2019 and 2021.
On a global scale, Yamal ranked as the third most searched athlete of 2024 on Google, trailing only Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and American boxing legend Mike Tyson.
Additionally, Yamal was the eighth most searched person worldwide in 2024, following prominent figures such as Donald Trump, Kate Middleton, and Kamala Harris.
