Barcelona may be struggling to register players, but Lamine Yamal hopes he won’t be one of them.
The LaLiga giants have plenty of distractions on the pitch with the signing of Dani Olmo, but that’s where their star boy shines once again.
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Lamine’s goal capped the Spanish Super Cup’s 2-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao in Saudi Arabia, setting up a place in the final against Real Madrid or Mallorca.
After overcoming the offside trap, the 17-year-old received a pass from Gavi, turned and skillfully shot past his Spanish teammate Unai Simon.
He ran to the Riyadh crowd and cheered Kylian Mbappé with his arms folded to signify the rivalry ahead of a potential showdown, further cementing his place in fans’ hearts.
As if that wasn’t enough to send Barca fans into seventh heaven, they received another gift this morning when Lamine assured the club of his long-term future in an interview published by CNN.
Read more about Lamine Yamal
“I don’t know when (the contract will be signed), but I believe it will be soon,” he said.
“In the end, Barça is the club of my life. I hope to extend my contract with them and stay with them as long as possible.
“I want to play in the Spanish league. I want to play for Barca and yes, I will extend my contract. I will.”
The 2024 European Championship winner’s current contract expires in 2026, meaning clubs could well start looking at a move for him if a contract extension is not signed by the summer.
Super agent Jorge Mendes has sounded positive notes, but that hasn’t always deterred the world’s biggest clubs.
In June 2024, the renowned Catalan magazine Mundo Deportivo reported that Paris Saint-Germain had informed Barcelona that they were ready to pay €250 million for Lamine’s services.
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The player was only 16 at the time and Barcelona president Joan Laporta had previously hinted at a €200 million offer from a European team.
Vice-president Enric Masip later confirmed any suspicions that it was PSG, commenting: “If you have money and the means to pay, you can hope to try to sign everyone.”
At that time, the Parisians were still shocked by the fact that star striker Kylian Mbappe would be moving to Real Madrid.
What was worse was that he got away with nothing and Lamine was seen as the only solution to close the gap.
This transfer fee of 250 million euros would have broken the world record of 222 million euros spent on Neymar in 2017, also from PSG to Barcelona.
However, Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer fell short of his intended goals – a Champions League win and a Ballon d’Or.
However, Lamine appears well placed to deliver on the promise that both Barca and PSG are confident of.
As winners of Euro 2024 and LaLiga, La Masia’s greatest talent since Lionel Messi is breaking one record after another.
He holds the record as the youngest debutant and goalscorer in LaLiga, the Champions League and the European Championship, and with seven goals and 11 assists already this season, the sky is the limit.