Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has opened up about the racism he faces, saying he has experienced it "a thousand times" — often from people who do not even recognise their own behaviour as offensive.

Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Movistar, Yamal described the racism he has encountered throughout his rise to prominence. "A thousand times. People are indirectly racist toward you, but maybe don't realise it," he said. "There are a lot of comments or looks that are racist and they don't even notice."

Context and calm

Yamal, who was part of the Spain squad that lifted the World Cup in July, showed a measured perspective when addressing the issue. He said being called Black did not offend him in itself — rather, the intent behind the words was what mattered.

"If someone calls me Black, it's not going to bother me at all, ultimately I'm Black, I'm not any other colour," he said. "Another thing is whether it's good or bad, whether they're saying it to offend me."

He also drew a distinction between disrespect and distraction. "But if I'm playing a match and they paid for a ticket to see me, I'm not going to get angry just because they disrespected me," he added.

A wider problem in Spanish football

Yamal's comments come after the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, a government agency, identified him and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr as the most frequent targets of online racist abuse in Spain during the final quarter of 2025.

Yamal was also among the Barcelona players subjected to racist abuse during El Clasico at the Bernabeu in October 2024, highlighting that the problem extends well beyond social media and into stadiums across the country.