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Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old wonderkid who rose to stardom as the “next Messi” for FC Barcelona, is now under fire from the press and fans after a wild 18th birthday party in which he rented several dwarfs.
According to reports, the teenager rented a house in Olivella, a small town just outside of Barcelona. He invited a number of celebrities, including musicians, YouTubers, influencers and several Barcelona teammates, including Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
But that’s not where the controversy begins. Instead, it was additional “guests” of the party, spotted by media members camped outside the home, which caused a firestorm.
The Lamine Yamal birthday drama is all time.
They got video of him bussing in a bunch of dwarfs for it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The dwarf association of Spain is now trying to sue him.pic.twitter.com/VV47QWrdTG
— Jack Mac (@JackMacCFB) July 14, 2025
Yamine Lamal Facing Condemnation After Hosting Dwarfs At 18th Birthday Party
Yamal allegedly paid a number of people affected by dwarfism to attend the party and, presumably, provide “entertainment.” Media members filmed the attendees entering the home, leading to several questions facing the Barcelona star.
Jesus Martin Blanco, the director general for the rights of persons with disabilities in Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, reportedly called for an investigation. Additionally, the Association of People with Achondroplasia and other Skeletal Dysplasias in Spain (ADEE) condemned what it called “a violation of ethical values” and said it will look to take legal action.
Yamal first rose to fame when he became one of the youngest players to ever feature for Barcelona. He then helped lead Spain to a 2024 UEFA Euro championship, where he was named the young player of the tournament.
Despite the backlash, one of the dwarfs invited to attend the party said during a local radio interview that complaints against Yamal are “discrediting” the dwarfs’ work.
“We are only asking they let us work,” the person said. “We have our own contracts, we are normal people, self-employed and do everything legally. I don’t know why there’s so much noise right now.
“What the association is doing right now is discrediting our work as professionals.
“We do this job because we want to. Nobody is forcing us to. We like to be artists, we have been dedicating to this for a long time, and over the last two or three years we’ve experienced more noise or questions around our job.”
Regardless, the incident continues a troubling trend for Lamal. Just weeks ago, he was caught up in a controversy with a 29-year-old adult film star who threatened to leak voice notes from the teenager. Lamal says that he turned down advances from the film star, while she claims it was the other way around.
None of Lamal, Barcelona, or his representation have commented on the latest incident at the time of writing.