A prominent supporter of his son's startling footballing breakthrough, Lamine Yamal's dad shockingly suffered multiple stab wounds in an attack on Wednesday evening.
Mounir Nasraoui, 35, was in the Spanish town of Mataro where he is understood to have been set upon in a car park before being rushed to hospital.
According to La Vanguardia, local residents claimed Nasraoui got into an argument with some individuals while walking his dog, with the dispute resulting in a fight before Nasraoui was stabbed multiple times.
The Catalonian town of Mataro is where Mounir, then wife Sheila Ebana and an infant Yamal lived before his parents' marriage ended in 2010.
The couple reportedly met after each had emigrated to Spain, with his father arriving from Morocco, while his mother is a native of Equatorial Guinea.
Yamal has always played for Spain and did so brilliantly on the nation's route to their fourth European Championship earlier this summer. Still, to honour his dual heritage, the 17-year-old has flags of both Morocco and Equatorial Guinea are sewn into his customised boots.
Little is known about how his mum and dad met but the pair wed before birthing the football sensation in 2007. Sadly, just three years later the relationship ended and Yamal moved with his mother to the nearby town of Granollers, where he would begin his footballing journey.
'My mother is afraid for me when I start, but she supports me a lot!' The winger told Barca Universal last year.
Yamal's dad had also reportedly pursued a career in football after arriving in the Iberian nation from his native Morocco. But according to The Sun, unable to find a way into the game professionally, he worked as a building painter.
One thing that is striking is how supportive his family appears. After his wondergoal during the recent competition, his sister was in tears in the stands in Munich while his mother was seen embracing another family member.
His uncle's bakery is now adorned with a graffiti mural of Yamal doing his trademark goal celebration, which involves forming the numbers three, zero and four with his fingers to represent the postcode of Rocafonda 304, the built-up residential area around 20 miles up the coast north-east of Barcelona where he grew up.
Yamal was first spotted by Barcelona aged seven. One look was enough for the scout and before he knew it, the youngster was part of the iconic La Masia academy, which has reared some of the greatest players ever.
Mounir's Instagram is flooded with pictures of Yamal playing for Spain and Barcelona as well as a litany of snaps of them together on their travels. All the big moments, he is there, living his dream vicariously through his son.
His posts are full of gratitude, with captions such as, 'as a father and a person I thank Lamine Yamal, thank you my son,' and, 'thank you Lamine for making me the happiest dad'. He even started a live stream from the stadium during the match against France, such was his enthusiasm and joy.
As a baby, Yamal was washed by Barcelona hero Messi in club calendar photoshoot. The photo went viral earlier this summer when Yamal's father shared it on Instagram, dubbing it the 'beginning of two legends'.
In April last year, Yamal made his debut for Barcelona at 15 years and 290 days, becoming the youngest to play for the club for more than a century.
Last month, he was celebrating being named the best young player at the tournament as La Roja romped to the Euro title. Yamal was cheered on by his friends and family following the triumph in Berlin.
Among them was his dad, who took part in the revelry on the Olympiastadion turf.
News of the attack and the injuries he suffered on Wednesday would no doubt have come as a shock to his loved ones.
Spanish outlets Relevo and Mundo Deportivo have since reported that while Nasraoui remains in hospital but he is 'out of danger'.
Spanish police have arrested three people accused of attempted murder, as reported by El Mundo.
Footage emerged of the footballer's father arguing with locals at around 3.45pm on Wednesday before being escorted away by police before the brutal attack.
Before police arrived to escort him away, another video shows Nasraoui being led away by an individual after what appears to be an argument.
The investigation is ongoing following the incident that took place at around 9.10pm local time.
Nasraoui was involved with law enforcement last year when he was convicted for attacking and confronting Vox militants during an election campaign.
He was ordered to pay a fine of £468 (€546) and compensate a supporter of the party with £934 (€110) for breaking his glasses.