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Lamine Yamal’s meteoric rise over the past one year has been one of the greatest tales in modern football. FC Barcelona’s youth academy La Masia has always rewarded the club with top footballing talent and Yamal is another prime example of that. Only 17 years of age, Yamal has a very bright and prosperous future ahead and Barca wants to make sure that he is tied to the club for a long time to come. Their current Sporting Director Deco spoke about Yamal’s contract situation during a recent interview with ESPN and confirmed Yamal’s long-term commitment to the Blaugrana.
Lamine signed his first professional contract in October 2023 after a breakthrough into the first team under manager Xavi Hernandez, which is valid till 2026 and included a 1-billion-euro release clause. The Spaniard will turn 18 in July this year and as things stand, he is set to sign another long-term deal with the Blaugrana, possibly running up until 2030, according to reports from Spanish media. The new contract will contain improved wages, bonuses and an even bumped up release clause to reflect his grown importance in the team.
Deco highlights dependence on Raphinha and Yamal; calls for more squad depth
Yamal’s agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents a lot of other top players across Europe, is known to have good relations with the Barcelona management and is expected to reach an agreement very soon for his young client. Deco has confirmed the same in his interview by saying, “There will be no problems for Lamine Yamal’s new contract.” Deco also praised the overall success of the La Masia academy in producing some top talents for the Barcelona first team and has reiterated the fact that Barcelona needs to focus on tying down these talented youngsters at the club for a long time.
Deco also spoke about Barcelona’s transfer plans heading into the new season after a spectacular current one. He highlighted Barcelona’s dependence on their wing duo of Raphinha and Yamal and said how he feels that the team needs more squad depth in those areas in order to effectively rotate their squad and sustain a long footballing season.
