Lamine Yamal makes huge Barcelona transfer statement in message to admiring clubs
Today at 06:29 AM
Barcelona may be having issues registering players, but Lamine Yamal is hoping he won't be one of them.
The LaLiga behemoths are having plenty of distractions on the pitch with the registration of Dani Olmo, but on it their starboy is shining once more.
Lamine scored to cap off a 2-0 Spanish Super Cup semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao in Saudi Arabia, lining up a final against either Real Madrid or Mallorca.
After beating the offside trap, the 17-year-old collected a pass from Gavi, turned, and fired expertly past his Spain teammate Unai Simon.
Running over to the Riyadh crowd, he whipped out Kylian Mbappe's arms-folded celebration to light up their rivalry ahead of a potential showdown, and further cemented his place in fans' hearts.
If that wasn't enough to leave Barca fans on cloud nine, they had another gift in the morning as Lamine committed his long-term future to the club in an interview released by CNN.
"I don't know when (the contract will be signed), but I believe it'll be soon," he said.
"In the end, Barça is the club of my life. I hope to renew my contract with them and to be with them as long as possible.
"I want to play in the Spanish league. I want to play for Barca, and yes, I will renew my contract. I will."
The Euro 2024 winner's current deal expires in 2026, meaning clubs may well start moving for him if an extension isn't signed by the summer.
Super agent Jorge Mendes has made positive noises, but that hasn't always put off the world's biggest clubs.
In June 2024 is was reported by renowned Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo that Paris Saint-Germain had informed Barcelona that they would be willing to pay €250million for Lamine's services.
The player was just 16-years-old at the time, and Barcelona president Joan Laporta had earlier alluded to a €200m offer from a European side.
Vice president Enric Masip later confirmed all suspicions that it was PSG commenting: "Well, when you have money and you have the means to pay, you can hope to try to sign everyone."
At the time the Parisiens were still reeling from the fact that star forward Kylian Mbappe was set to join Real Madrid.
Even worse than that, he was going for free, and Lamine was seen as the only solution to fill the gap.
That €250m fee would have shattered the world record of €222m that was spent on Neymar in 2017, also from PSG to Barcelona.
However, Brazil's all-time top scorer fell short of their planned goals – a Champions League win and a Ballon d'Or.
Lamine, though, looks well set to follow up on the promise that both Barca and PSG are certain about.
A Euro 2024 and LaLiga winner, La Masia's biggest talent since Lionel Messi is breaking record after record.
He holds the record for the youngest debutant and goalscorer in LaLiga, Champions League and European Championships, and with seven goals and 11 assists already this season, the sky's the limit.
