Lamine Yamal was unable to re-enter Spain following their 6-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Turkey. The European champions dominated Vincenzo Montella's side on Sunday night, with Arsenal's Mikel Merino grabbing a hat-trick from midfield.
Yamal's Barcelona teammates Pedri and Ferran Torres scored the rest of the goals, completing what was a one-sided contest for Luis de la Fuente's side. However, the night did not end so successfully for the Ballon d'Or contender, who was unable to fly back to Spain with the rest of the squad after a crucial mistake prevented him from leaving Konya.
Yamal Banned From Returning to Spain
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While you may have imagined that post-match would've been filled with victory celebrations for the 18-year-old, it was instead replaced with stress as it was revealed that Yamal in fact lost his passport after the game at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium.
Turkish outlet Beyaz Futbol captured footage of a visibly upset Yamal, dressed in casual clothes and wearing headphones, frantically searching the team bus for his passport before heading back to the dressing room to continue the hunt.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or nominee was later filmed rifling through his suitcase in a stadium car park with the help of staff members, though reports suggested he eventually departed the ground without recovering the document.
Journalist Emir provided an update on X, posting: "Lamine Yamal lost his passport. After the match, Lamine Yamal searched for his passport for a long time, returned to the locker room, and looked for it there as well. He left the stadium without finding it."
According to Turkiye Today, the Spanish Football Federation reached out to Turkish officials, who in turn coordinated with local police to deal with the situation.
The matter was eventually settled, allowing Yamal to fly home separately from the rest of the squad on a private jet. He is now due back in Barcelona to resume training ahead of Sunday’s home fixture against Valencia.
By contrast, members of the England squad, including Yamal’s club teammate Marcus Rashford, typically surrender their passports to FA staff upon arrival for international duty, only receiving them back when required.