With Lionel Messi gone, FC Barcelona looked for a new nugget ready to take over from the Argentinian. There was indeed hope with Ansu Fati, but the latter still cannot get his career off the ground and will probably never be the future legend of the Blaugrana. And then there was Lamine Yamal. A young crack who has brought joy to the Culers since he was 16 years old. Really launched by Xavi last season (the former coach gave him his first match in La Liga on April 29, 2023), Lamine Yamal immediately amazed everyone.
After winning the championship in 2023, the Spaniard played 50 games last season (7 goals, 9 assists). An impressive number of matches for a player aged 16 at the time. Enough to send him to Germany with Luis De la Fuente’s Roja. And it’s been a festival ever since. European champion with Spain, Lamine Yamal has had an excellent start to the season with his club (6 goals, 7 assists in 14 matches) and has just won the Kopa trophy. Favorite to lift that of the Golden Boy, the Blaugrana is the new star of Spanish football. And FC Barcelona is very keen on it.
Xavi saved Barça
Last month, President Joan Laporta revealed that he had rejected an offer that would have made Lamine Yamal the most expensive player in the history of football. “ A club came to me to recruit Lamine for 250 million euros and I said no. He is the most popular player in the world. What is the true value of Lamine? Well, that’s not reflected in the book value. » For many, the club in question was PSG. Parisian interest is in any case not new. Mundo Deportivo reveals that the Rouge et Bleu could have afforded the young talent when he was 15 years old. His agent at the time, Ivan de la Peña, had received an exceptional offer from PSG for his protégé.
Enough to make Barça very nervous since Lamine Yamal, who was considered the greatest talent of the Masia, could have left for free at the age of 16. It was then that Barça coach Xavi took matters into his own hands to convince the player and his entourage not to leave Catalonia. Xavi then promised Lamine Yamal to make him debut in the first team as soon as he had the opportunity, but in exchange, the player agreed to sign professionally for Barça. Result: Xavi launched Lamine Yamal on April 29, 2023 against Betis and the player signed his first professional contract on October 2, 2023. Barça came very close to tragedy.
