Did Lamine Yamal really buy Ines Garcia a Mercedes-Benz? Fact check

Spanish Footballer star Lamine Yamal’s new photo of buying a Mercedes-Benz for his girlfriend Ines Garcia has taken the internet by storm.

The viral photo widely circulating on social media platforms demonstrated that Yamal bought a brand new Mercedes for Garcia using stacks of physical cash. One image showed the couple was seen standing near the luxury car while Garcia was in awe. The second image shows Yamal sitting alongside his partner. Garcia was signing the documents and Yamal held the wads of cash.

Since winning the World Cup, the Spanish footballer and his girlfriend have been in the spotlight and his relationship was caught in controversy. It was reported that Garcia left her five-year relationship just for dating Yamal.

These unverified accusations drew fierce reaction from the users and Yamal’s fans who advised him to surround himself with the right people.

The recent image also received backlash from the users. One user commented, “If they break up mid season we won't recover." 

Truth behind the viral photo

The viral photo claiming to show Lamine Yamal buying a Mercedes-Benz with cash is entirely AI-generated. Several undeniable inconsistencies expose the image as a fabrication. For instance, the biggest fault lies in currency. The image displays stacks of US dollars, but in Spain the Euro is officially used. Luxury dealerships in Spain do not conduct retail transactions using physical US dollars.

Spanish anti-money laundering regulations strictly prohibit commercial cash transactions exceeding 1,000 Euros. Purchasing a high-end vehicle with physical cash on a desk is legally impossible at any registered dealership in the country.

The image also contains classic AI errors, such as blurry and incomprehensible background text, unnatural skin smoothing, and inconsistent textures on the money bundles. Users quickly called out unrealistic details like paying in physical cash and lack of confirmation from the couple's verified accounts.

The false claims originated from engagement-drawing accounts and social media fan pages following recent high-profile events.