The Incredible Reason Why Lamine Yamal Wraps His Hand, Nod to Real Madrid Legend

The Barcelona and Spain superstar uses a bandage on his right hand whenever he’s on the pitch.

Lamine Yamal’s hand-wrap is part of his matchday uniform. | Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Those who have witnessed Lamine Yamal display his magic on the soccer pitch over the last two seasons may have wondered why the star teenager always wears a bandage on his right hand. Recently, Yamal revealed the reason, and it’s as bizarre as it is relatable.

Since the second half of the 2024–25 campaign, Yamal has taken the pitch with a full right hand-wrap plus two thin bandages wrapping his two middle fingers together. In a recent recent video he posted on his YouTube channel, the Barcelona and Spain superstar admitted his hand-wrap stems from a fit of rage while playing video games.

“I wrap my hand because I threw a punch at the TV while is was playing PlayStation,” Yamal confessed. “I smashed my fingers, they ended up very swollen. Since then I wore the bandage and the hand-wrap fit me very well, as if I was Karim Benzema.

“We joked that I was KB9 [Benzema] so I decided to keep using it. I think it looks great so I decided to keep it.”

Benzema donned a similar hand-wrap for the majority of his illustrious Real Madrid career. Yamal has seemingly decided to adopt the bandage as a pure aesthetic look reminiscent of the French striker, even if a former Real Madrid doctor had another theory, one that implied some serious allegations.

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Yamal Debunks Real Madrid Conspiracy Theories

Raphinha once poked fun at Real Madrid’s theories regarding the hand-wraps Barcelona players wear. | Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Yamal isn’t the only Barcelona player that routinely rocked a hand-wrap over the last two seasons, with others such as Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski also wearing bandages.

Back in late April 2025, former Real Madrid first-team doctor, Niko Mihic, not so subtly implied that Barcelona players could perhaps be covering their wrists in an effort to hide wounds from needles, alluded to allegations of a potential doping scandal.

“I don’t know what is happening,” Mihic said at the time. “But what I want to say is that every doctor knows that if you want the easiest access to the veins, it’s in the hands and wrists. It might be a lot to say, but I don’t understand why they are doing it, so they should come out and deny it, who me why they are doing it. What’s the secret?

“They might be getting tendinitis for playing too much table soccer, just like maybe they didn’t bribe Negreira,” Mihic added, referencing to the well-documented allegations about Barcelona and the former vice-president of Spanish soccer’s refereeing committee.

Only days later, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 4–3 to essentially clinch the 2024–25 La Liga title, and Raphinha pointed at his heavily wrapped right hand during the celebration of one of his two goals on the day, seemingly clapping back at Mihic’s comments.

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Lamine Yamal’s Promise If Spain Wins 2026 World Cup

Lamine Yamal will make his World Cup debut this summer. | Gongora/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Yamal was also asked to make a promise of what he’d do if Spain triumph at the 2026 World Cup. The teenager will play his first World Cup this summer, and he didn’t shy away from the question.

“I promise that if I win the World Cup, I’ll grow my beard and mustache for three weeks,” Yamal stated.

The always clean-shaven prodigy would certainly turn a few heads rocking a beard and a mustache, granted, three weeks doesn’t seem enough for an 18-year-old to fully grow it out.

In any case, Yamal will make his debut in soccer’s most-watched tournament this summer once he’s fully recovered from a hamstring injury, helping Spain become an even greater force.

Interestingly, though, it’s unlikely he’s rocking the trademark bandage on his right hand considering he’s yet to debut that for Spain, exclusively wrapping his hand when he’s playing for Barcelona.

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