Lamine Yamal did his homework at Euro 2024. Literally. While preparing for one of the biggest tournaments in international football, Spain's teenage winger was being sent assignments by his teachers back home — completing them between training sessions and knockout rounds.
That chapter is closed now. Yamal has finished Spain's compulsory secondary education, known as ESO, which most students complete around age 16. He's done what was required of him academically, and his full attention has shifted entirely to Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
La Masia raised a student as much as a footballer
Barcelona's academy has always treated education as non-negotiable. La Masia players don't skip school — they figure out how to fit it around elite training, and Yamal was no exception. ESPN Originals' documentary series Destiny On The Line captured the reality of it: remote learning from Germany during Euro 2024, homework deadlines running alongside match preparations, and a teenager who seemed to take both seriously without making a fuss about either.
He even joked about it at the time. The kind of joke that only lands because the alternative — complaining — never seemed to cross his mind.
There's no indication he's pursuing any further formal education now. At this stage of his career, playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain and anchoring Barcelona's attack, the schedule doesn't leave much room for lectures. His classroom is the pitch, and the curriculum has gotten considerably harder.
What stands out isn't the novelty of a footballer doing homework — it's how unremarkable Yamal seemed to find it. No drama, no excuses. Just a kid finishing what he started while also becoming one of the best players on the planet before his 20th birthday.
