Kerala’s 15-Year-Old ‘Lamine Yamal Lookalike’ Went Viral With 14 Million Views

What happened?

A 15-year-old schoolboy from Kerala has suddenly become an internet sensation because social media users think he looks remarkably similar to Spanish football star Lamine Yamal.

His name is Allen James, and he is from Chakkuvally in Kerala’s Kollam district.

People around Allen had apparently noticed the resemblance before. But the comparison reached a much bigger audience after a video featuring him was filmed and shared online by local vlogger and block panchayat member Nikhil Manohar.

One of the Instagram videos featuring Allen went on to cross 14 million views.

Why are people comparing him to Lamine Yamal?

The viral comparison is mainly about Allen’s facial features, hairstyle and smile.

Videos showing the teenager in a Yamal jersey made the resemblance even more noticeable to viewers, helping the clips spread across social media.

The result was a classic internet lookalike moment: viewers saw someone who reminded them of an internationally famous footballer and began sharing the comparison.

Allen actually plays football too

There is another detail that makes the story more interesting.

Allen isn’t only being compared with a footballer — he plays football himself.

He is a Class 10 student at Peruvazhi Government High School and plays for his school football team.

There is one big difference, though.

While Lamine Yamal is known as an attacking player, Allen prefers playing in defence.

Allen has also said that although he likes Yamal, Lionel Messi and Argentina are his favourites.

How much did the viral video change things?

The sudden attention had a major effect on Allen’s social media presence.

Reports say his following increased from roughly 200 followers to more than 20,000 after the video went viral.

He also began receiving invitations to local events as more people recognized him as Kerala’s viral Yamal lookalike.

What had previously been a resemblance noticed mostly by people around him had suddenly become something millions of people had seen online.

Why did the video go so viral?

There probably isn’t one single reason.

Celebrity lookalikes naturally create an immediate visual hook: viewers understand the comparison within seconds without needing much context.

In Allen’s case, the combination of his appearance, hairstyle, football connection and videos featuring him in a Yamal jersey made the comparison particularly easy to share.

Once millions of views started accumulating, the story itself became interesting beyond the resemblance — people wanted to know who the teenager in the video actually was.

Has Lamine Yamal reacted?

As of the reporting around Allen’s viral rise, there was no confirmed public response from Lamine Yamal to the teenager.

Allen has said that he would love to receive a message from the football star.

For now, the viral moment has taken a Class 10 student from Kollam from a few hundred social-media followers to an audience of thousands — all because the internet thought his face looked surprisingly familiar.

What you should know

Allen James is a 15-year-old student from Kollam, Kerala, whose resemblance to Lamine Yamal turned him into a viral social-media personality.

The widely shared video featuring him crossed 14 million Instagram views, while his following reportedly jumped from around 200 to more than 20,000.

But beyond the viral comparison, Allen has his own connection to the sport: he plays football for his school as a defender.

Whether Lamine Yamal eventually notices his Kerala lookalike remains to be seen.