Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup for the second time in history on Sunday, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the winner in the 106th minute, according to CBS News.
For 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his birthday just days before the final, the win capped a breakout tournament — even though his own extra-time free-kick was tipped away by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who finished the match with the most saves ever recorded in a men’s World Cup final, as per NBC News.
The teenager now returns home to Barcelona already sitting on one of the most talked-about real estate acquisitions in Spanish football: a mansion in Esplugues de Llobregat, once owned by former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué and pop star Shakira.
The property purchase, finalised in late October last year when Yamal was still 18, is a reminder of how far his fortunes have come — even before turning 19 during this year’s World Cup, he already owned one of Barcelona’s most well-known estates.
Inside the €14 million Barcelona mansion
According to Goal.com, Yamal purchased the sprawling estate from Piqué and Shakira, who had left the property vacant since their 2022 separation. The complex, built in 2012, was originally spread across 3,800 square metres and comprised three separate residences, though one of the smaller dwellings was sold off separately over the years, trimming the footprint before Yamal stepped in.
The property was originally listed at €14 million after Piqué and Shakira’s 2022 split, though the price was cut to €11 million once one of the estate’s three residences was sold off separately as per the outlet.
As per reports in Diario Sport, the property includes six bedrooms and five bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a private tennis court, a gym and multiple terraces. The main residence opens into a glass-walled living area that looks out toward the Mediterranean, with manicured lawns and a poolside lounge built for entertaining. One of the estate’s most distinctive features is a professional recording studio that Shakira herself once used to work on music.
A property with deep Barça history
The mansion’s location places Yamal in a neighbourhood already populated by his Barcelona teammates, including Ronald Araújo and Alejandro Balde, according to reports. The house was listed for sale shortly after Piqué and Shakira’s split was announced in 2022, but reportedly lingered on the market for more than two years despite global interest before Yamal’s deal was finalised in late October, following three to four months of negotiations, as per Goal.com.
The purchase comes months after Yamal signed a six-year contract extension with Barcelona in May, a deal reported to be worth around €30 million a season — a figure that places the teenager among the highest earners in world football despite still being in his teens.
Renovation plans and a new chapter
Yamal is reported to be planning an extensive renovation to tailor the estate to his lifestyle as a professional athlete, including a personal training pitch and an upgraded fitness and recovery facility. Shakira’s old recording studio, meanwhile, is rumoured to be earmarked for conversion into either a private cinema or a gaming room, as per reports citing sources close to the player.
Yamal has previously purchased homes for members of his family, including his mother, father and grandmother, according to Goal.com — a reflection, reports suggest, of how central family remains to him even as his career and earnings have accelerated. Reports also indicate that Barcelona’s security team inspected the new villa and helped install additional surveillance measures around the property, given Yamal’s rapidly growing public profile.
The World Cup final that got away
Yamal’s evening in New Jersey ended in disappointment on the scoreboard, even as his individual performance drew praise. Spain dominated possession throughout the final and became the first team to concede just a single goal en route to a World Cup title, as reported by NPR.
Argentina, chasing back-to-back titles for the first time since Brazil managed the feat in 1958 and 1962, were reduced to ten men late in regulation after Enzo Fernández picked up a second yellow card, which set up the sequence that led to Yamal’s free-kick opportunity — one that Martínez kept out to preserve Argentina’s slim hopes before Torres eventually settled the contest.
For Yamal, the final marks the end of a breakout World Cup campaign and the start of an off-season back in Barcelona, where a €14 million mansion — and a recording studio once used by one of Spain’s biggest pop stars — now awaits its newest owner.