Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal has signed a three-year contract that ties him to the club until 2026.
Yamal, who became Barcelona and La Liga’s youngest player earlier this year, is only permitted as a 16-year-old to sign a deal with a maximum length of three years.
But his contract is expected to include a €1billion release clause in line with fellow star youngsters Pedri and Gavi.
Negotiations over a new deal started in 2022 but accelerated after Yamal, who had received approaches from clubs around Europe, teamed up with super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Yamal thrived for Barcelona Under-19s last season and after being included in the senior squad for the first time in April, he came off the bench against Real Betis in May to become the youngest player in La Liga history at 15 years and 290 days old.
He then became the club’s youngest starter — at 16 years and 38 days old — against Cadiz in August.
Yamal, a left-footed attacker whose favoured role is on the right wing, also made international history in September.
He became Spain’s youngest international player and goalscorer aged 16 years and 57 days when he came off the bench and scored in a 7-1 win against Georgia.
Yamal has featured 10 times in all competitions so far this season, making four La Liga starts and providing two assists.
How Barca held off European interest to tie down Yamal
Yamal’s debut last season was a move that was seen as a show of faith from Barcelona to the player — proof they could provide a platform to first-team minutes sooner than later.
Yamal had in fact received approaches from clubs across Europe before he turned 16.
There was also Premier League interest in Yamal, though post-Brexit regulations have made it more difficult for English clubs to offer attractive packages to young players.
Reports in Spain have claimed that Manchester City and Chelsea had explored a possible move involving a loan deal to respective sister clubs Girona and Strasbourg, with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig also reported to have been interested.
Yamal was supposed to be more involved with Barcelona Atletic, the club’s second team, this term.
But after his breakthrough this season — including with Spain — he is not expected to step down from the first team now.
