Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has confirmed his romantic relationship with Latin music sensation Nicki Nicole through an Instagram post shared with his 37.6 million followers.
The 18-year-old footballer published an intimate photograph featuring himself and the Argentine singer celebrating her 25th birthday.
The social media revelation came after Yamal's impressive performance helping Barcelona secure a dramatic comeback victory against Levante on Saturday evening.
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His Instagram post, accompanied solely by cake and heart emojis, showed the couple positioned closely together beside Nicole's birthday cake.
Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has confirmed his romantic relationship with Latin music sensation Nicki Nicole through an Instagram post shared with his 37.6 million followers.
|The public confirmation follows weeks of speculation about their budding romance, with Nicole having been connected to the Spanish international since appearing at his controversial birthday celebrations last month.
Spanish gossip expert Javi Hoyos previously detailed the alleged timeline of their romance, claiming the pair shared their first kiss following Yamal's birthday festivities. According to Hoyos, whilst no romantic encounter occurred during the actual celebration, significant flirting took place between the two.
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"This girl tells me that at Lamine Yamal's birthday party they didn't hook up, there was a lot of flirting, but a couple of weeks later, on July 24th, they did go to a club on the beach and they did kiss and left together at four in the morning," Hoyos revealed.
The gossip expert subsequently challenged both Yamal and Nicole to either confirm or deny his account of events.
Their connection reportedly began when Nicole attended Yamal's July birthday party, which later became the subject of considerable controversy.
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The Barcelona forward went public with his new romance after an impressive performance on Sunday
|Getty
Nicole's romantic history includes a high-profile relationship with fellow Latin music artist Peso Pluma, which ended in a public separation last year. The couple's relationship deteriorated following allegations that Peso Pluma had been spotted with another woman during a visit to Las Vegas.
The split between the two musicians became a matter of public scrutiny, marking the end of what had been a notable pairing within the Latin music scene. Nicole's previous relationship with Peso Pluma had attracted significant media attention before its controversial conclusion.
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The Argentine singer's connection to Yamal represents her first publicly acknowledged romantic involvement since the highly publicised breakdown of her relationship with the Mexican performer.
Yamal's 18th birthday celebration on July 13th became embroiled in serious allegations regarding the treatment of attendees and hiring practices. The Mafia-themed event, held at a private estate with approximately 200 guests including team-mates and family, faced accusations of exploiting individuals with dwarfism.
Nicki Nicole met Lamine Yamal at his controversial party
|GETTY
Images reportedly showed five men with Achondroplasia appearing to be registered for the party, prompting Jesus Martin, the General Director of Disability in the government, to call for ministerial investigation last month.
Spanish model Calvo, who held Miss Teenager Spain 2021 and Miss Teenager Europe 2022 titles, alleged organisers sought to hire twelve blonde women with specific breast measurements.
Yamal has never confirmed or denied the claims.