FC Barcelona Rejects $270 Million Bid For Lamine Yamal, Reports EFE
FC Barcelona rejected what would have been a world transfer record-breaking $270 million (€250 million) fee for its wonderboy winger Lamine Yamal before the ongoing European Championship according to Spanish news agency the EFE, which cited anonymous sources at the Catalan club.
Lamine is currently the talk of the continent after his sensational strike for Spain against France in the mentioned competition’s semi-finals on Tuesday.
Les Bleus went ahead in the eighth minute through a Kylian Mbappe-assisted Kolo Muani header, but then succumbed to a 21th minute equalizer from MVP Lamine before Dani Olmo gave Spain a 2-1 lead it managed to hold onto until full time.
The 16-year-old is tied down to a FC Barcelona contract which has a $1.082 billion (€1 billion) release clause attached to its terms, with the Blaugrana having learned its lesson from what went down with Neymar in 2017.
Barca thought the Brazilian was as safe as houses at the time as any interested club would need to pay €222 million ($240 million) to free him from his deal at Camp Nou.
It underestimated Paris Saint-Germain, however, which put up the cash and smashed the world transfer record to steal Neymar in turn changing the market forever.
Fast forward to 2024, and the Qatar-backed Ligue 1 giant has shown it is prepared to do the same to land Lamine, who it sees as the perfect replacement for Real Madrid-bound Mbappe.
Barca president Joan Laporta confirmed a report from MARCA on his podcast back in March by revealing that his club had turned down a mammoth $216 million (€200 million) proposal for the teenager who has been on Barca’s books since seven years of age.
“We have offers for players like Lamine Yamal worth €200 million, and we have said no,” Laporta explained.
“Because we trust in the boy, in his sporting projection, and we don’t have the need [to accept]. On the contrary. We are in a process of economic recovery and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
At the end of June, Mundo Deportivo reported that PSG came forward with a $270 million (€250 million) offer for Lamine.
Yet according to the EFE, that sum was tabled before the Euros by an unnamed party but turned down by Barca who considers Lamine “non-transferable as a cornerstone of [its] sporting project”.
Despite its well-documented issues navigating Financial Fair Play, Barca cannot risk losing a generational talent who would be simply irreplaceable.
Source: Tom Sanderson of FORBES
