Inside the incredible worlds of teen sensations Kobbie Mainoo and Lamine Yamal, as they go head to head for Euros glory
WHEN Cristiano Ronaldo made his Euros debut in 2004 neither Spaniard Lamine Yamal nor Englishman Kobbie Mainoo had been born.
Tomorrow the two exciting teenagers will face each other in the final of Euro 2024 in Berlin.
Both have set the football world alight with a string of dazzling displays for their countries.
Here we take a look at the teens playing for kicks . . .
KOBBIE MAINOO, 19
ALL dressed in replica England shirts bearing the number 26, Kobbie Mainoo’s family beamed with pride after England’s semi-final victory.
And so they should. At the beginning of the Euros the 19-year-old central midfielder was not in manager Gareth Southgate’s starting 11.
Yet, he is going to be key to England’s hopes of lifting the trophy for the first time tomorrow night having become the team’s most reliable passer.
Waiting for debut
Stats from Opta show Mainoo has the best pass accuracy for a midfielder in the history of the European Championship, at 96 per cent.
But just a year ago Mainoo still had not made a league start for his club side Manchester United.
At the time — the most famous Mainoo was his half brother Jordan Mainoo-Hames, who appeared on the ITV reality show Love Island.
In the past year, Mainoo made a name for himself by winning the FA Cup, scoring a wonder goal against United’s rivals Liverpool and getting called up by Southgate.
After his debut for England in March, the manager said: “You cannot believe he has taken everything in his stride like he has.”
But even Mainoo could not contain his excitement on Wednesday after winning in Dortmund against the Dutch, joining his mum and dad in the crowd after the match.
Like Spain’s Lamine Yamal, Mainoo’s talents were spotted at an early age.
Born in Stockport, Gtr Manchester, in April 2005, he moved to the town’s leafy suburb Cheadle Hulme.
There he played for Cheadle And Gatley junior football club aged four, before being scouted by Man United and Man City aged six.
Steve Vare, his first coach at Cheadle and Gatley, told The Sun: “He came from a lovely family. I used to have regular chats with his dad.”
Lifelong Red, young Kobbie opted for Man U.
Normally, youth players join the scholarship scheme aged 13 or 14, but Mainoo came in at 11 years-old.
Injuries put back his progression to the first team, but once Mainoo got over them he starred in manager Erik ten Hag’s starting line-up.
His level-headed parents have made sure the youngster does not go off the rails.
Mainoo said: “At home with the family I have around me, they very much keep me grounded and nothing changes at home.”
Dad Felix Mainoo, who is divorced from Kobbie’s mum Abena Herold, has guided much of his career.
Lives in £370k home
He could not hide his pride when he saw a young Man U fan wearing a replica Mainoo shirt at Wembley Stadium before the FA Cup final. Felix asked the boy: “Is that your favourite player? He’s my son.”
Kobbie lives with his dad in a £370,000 semi-detached home in Cheadle Hulme, despite earning £20,000 a week.
He also spends time with his mum and sisters Ama and Efia. The teenager is believed to be single and unlike his teammates was not sharing any kisses in the stands in Dortmund after the semi-final. Instead he is focusing on his football and keeping in touch with his old pals.
I do know Kobbie is still in contact with his old school friends. He hasn’t lost sight of the fact he is very grounded
Steve Vare, Kobbie's first coach at Cheadle and Gatley
Coach Steve added: “I do know Kobbie is still in contact with his old school friends. He hasn’t lost sight of the fact he is very grounded.”
Fans will be grateful that Mainoo chose to play for the country of his birth, rather than that of his parents, who are originally from Ghana.
The African nation tried to encourage him to join their team, but Mainoo said: “As a kid you always dream of playing for England.”
Kobbie’s rise has been so rapid that he has not had time to take in his enormous progress. He said: “It happened quick. But I’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. And now we’re in the final.”
That will all change if England defeats Spain in Berlin tomorrow night — after that he will be a hero forever.
LAMINE YAMAL, 17
EVEN before Lamine Yamal scored a wonder goal for Spain in the semi-finals, his club Barcelona had placed a billion-Euro price tag on the youngster.
The winger was still 16 when he curled a shot into the top corner to knock out France on Tuesday.
And he is celebrating his 17th birthday today by preparing to play in tomorrow night’s European Championship final against England.
It is an incredible rise for the youngster, who was bathed as a baby by Argentina and Barcelona legend Lionel Messi for a charity calendar.
The Spanish giants have been nurturing Yamal’s talents for more than a decade and he made his senior debut for the club aged just 15 years, nine months and 16 days.
A star is born
He is so young that he has had to take exams online during the Euros. His dad Mounir Nasraoui is 35 — three years younger than Yamal’s Spanish team-mate Jesus Navas.
Mounir’s Instagram account is filled with images of his son, including the one of Messi with the baby Yamal, with the caption: “The beginning of two legends.”
But Yamal’s family have not had it easy. At first his parents shared his grandmother’s apartment with Yamal, an uncle and four cousins in the city of Mataró on the outskirts of Barcelona.
England will be hoping to undermine those Messi comparisons by restricting his goal-scoring opportunities in Berlin
Dad Mounir split from Yamal’s mum Sheila Ebana, who worked in a fast food outlet, when their son was three.
His dad stayed in Mataro and his mum moved to the nearby city of Granollers. Yamal split his time between their homes.
With Mounir having been born in Morocco and Sheila in Equatorial Guinea they had faced hostility in Spain.
Standing up to the bigotry got Mounir into trouble when he confronted activists from the anti-immigrant far right party Vox earlier this year.
He was fined £450 in June after allegedly getting into a scuffle with a group who were handing out leaflets in Mataró.
But Yamal is a hero in the deprived part of Mataro, called Rocafonda, where he grew up — an area he celebrates when he scores.
He draws the number 304 with his hand. They are the final three digits of the suburb’s postcode. Half the population there faces poverty.
But for Yamal, it all started on the streets of that suburb.
In an interview with GQ magazine in Spain, Yamal said: “I was always there, I spent the whole day playing, and without picking up my mobile phone. I didn’t stop.
“I arrived home dripping with sweat.” The teenager has become a symbol for diversity and he celebrates his African roots by displaying the flags of both Morocco and Equatorial Guinea on his boots.
He said: “I’ve visited both countries. In the end my families are my roots. It’s something very important for me.”
The contract he signed with Adidas to promote that footwear bought a new house for his grandmother.
But even though Yamal is earning a reported £120,000 a month, he still lives at Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy. The club is trying its best to protect him, restricting interviews and disciplining him if he steps out of line.
When he played for the national side’s under-17s he and some team-mates reportedly made prank calls to the team’s psychologist in March 2023.
As a result Barcelona banned him for four games. But according to the Spanish press he has found time for romance and has been linked to Spanish influencer Alex Padilla.
In the press one day they put you as the new Messi and the next day they say that you have to stop playing
Lamine Yamal
Yamal’s skill has led many to call him the “new Messi”. But it is a title the youngster himself is wary of, given how many former prodigies have failed to live up to that lofty billing.
Yamal said: “In the press one day they put you as the new Messi and the next day they say that you have to stop playing.”
Clearly, though, Barcelona sees him as the heir to Messi.
Yamal signed a three-year contract with them last year, the longest allowed for minors under Spanish law.
There is an agreement that the deal will automatically renew until 2030.
But England will be hoping to undermine those Messi comparisons by restricting his goal-scoring opportunities in Berlin tomorrow night.