Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal leads Europe in dribbles with wide gap to rivals
BARCELONA – Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has pulled clear at the top of Europe’s dribbling charts in 2025, completing 234 successful dribbles this calendar year to establish a commanding lead over his nearest rivals.
According to data compiled by BeSoccer Pro, Yamal has produced almost 100 more dribbles than the second-placed player, Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, who has recorded 140. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is third on 129.
The 18-year-old, who graduated from Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, has quickly become a central figure for the Catalan club. Despite his age, he was a regular starter last season, finishing the campaign with 18 goals and 21 assists in 55 matches in all competitions.
Yamal has carried that form into the 2025/26 campaign, adding two goals and three assists in his first five league fixtures, while also establishing himself as Europe’s most prolific dribbler across the continent’s top five leagues and UEFA competitions.
Nobody in the world dribbles better than Lamine Yamal right now , Phenomenal pic.twitter.com/gel9ZHHPIz
— rafael (@FlickyCuler) August 31, 2025
Beyond the top three, only a handful of players has broken the 100 mark in dribbles. Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku ranks fourth on 121, followed by West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus (106), Paris Saint-Germain’s Desire Doue (104), Napoli’s Matteo Politano (104), Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo (104) and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams (101).
Brazilian winger Antony, now at Real Betis, was just short of that mark with 99 successful dribbles across La Liga, the Europa League and the Conference League.
The scale of Yamal’s lead highlights his influence on Barcelona’s attacking play. He has completed 234 dribbles since Jan. 1, more than double the total achieved by several leading forwards in Europe.
“He has an extraordinary capacity to beat his man, one v one, and that is decisive in modern football,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said recently, noting that Yamal’s ability to stretch opposition defences creates space for team-mates.
Barcelona, who are aiming for their first Champions League title in over a decade, has leaned heavily on the winger’s attacking output. Club officials believe his role will be even more important as the season progresses, with Yamal already outpacing most of Europe’s elite attackers in terms of both dribbling and end product.
The Rocafonda-born forward, long tipped as one of Spain’s brightest prospects, now stands as the continent’s undisputed leader in one of the game’s most eye-catching metrics.