In April 2023, a young prodigy made his professional debut with FC Barcelona at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 16 days. While the statistic is already mind-boggling, Lamine Yamal could have emerged even earlier. Jordi Cruyff, Barça’s former director of football, revealed that the club had to keep the young Spanish winger waiting due to a contract issue. Or rather, the lack of a contract.
Lamine Yamal takes Barça by surprise
In the 2022-2023 season, Lamine Yamal already begins training with the professional team, while his 15e birthday is still a recent memory. And from his first ball, the left-hander bluffs the entire audience.
“ The first time Lamine trained, after five minutes, Xavi (who was then the coach of Barça) told us it was something special. When Lamine touched his first ball, all the players, even the old ones, looked at him with eyes that said it was something different »Jordi Cruyff told the channel Movistar.
Xavi quickly considered launching the phenomenon into the deep end in La Liga. But there was a catch: Yamal was not tied to any contract with Barça at the time. “ We said to ourselves: let’s first make sure that he is ours for many years. »recalls Jordi Cruyff, emphasizing that Barça worked to ” hide » his nugget to avoid other clubs making him a financial offer.
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Mission accomplished for Barça, since Yamal will quickly agree to tie his future to the Catalans. From October 2023, the phenomenon is extended until 2026 with a release clause set at… one billion euros.
