World Cup: Spain and Barcelona star Yamal’s home hit by attempted burglary

Burglars tried to break in to the Barcelona home of Spain football star Lamine Yamal, shortly after he helped La Roja reach their second World Cup final on Wednesday, police and media said.

“There was an attempted” burglary “at a home in Esplugues de Llobregat” in Barcelona’s outskirts, a spokesperson for Catalan regional police told the news agency AFP.

The force declined to identify the property’s owner for privacy reasons, but Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia said the house belonged to the 19-year-old Spain forward.

Two people wearing balaclavas climbed onto the house’s wall but were surprised by private security guards and fled, La Vanguardia reported.

The newspaper said Yamal’s house is well known because it once belonged to Barcelona football great Gerard Pique and his ex-partner, Colombian music star Shakira, when they lived together in the Catalan capital.

Wednesday’s incident occurred early in the morning, moments after Spain completed their 2-0 victory over France in Texas to qualify for the World Cup final.

Yamal won a first-half penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted to open the scoring. The forward also helped Barca defend La Liga, the Spanish domestic league title, last season.

In Madrid, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal are among the football stars to have suffered break-ins at their homes in recent years.

Spain will face either Argentina or England in Sunday’s finale to the 2026 edition of FIFA’s global showpiece event.