Joan Laporta immediately refused a world record bid for Lamine Yamal last summer. Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images
Although he’s just 17 years of age, it’s believed that Paris Saint-Germain made a world record €250m bid for Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal this summer, which was immediately turned down by president, Joan Laporta.
Speaking to Barca One, the club’s official in-house channel, Laporta was forthright in his explanation as to how and why the Blaugranes held firm despite what would have been an incredible cash injection into a club that a few years ago were over a billion euros in debt (ESPN).
Joan Laporta rejected a world record bid for Lamine Yamal
“They (PSG) came to buy Lamine from me for €250 million and I said no six months ago,” he said.
“He is the most popular player in the world. What is Lamine’s real value? Well, that is not reflected in the book value.”
It’s believed that the French giants had tried to attempt to prise the teenager in order to give their fans something to shout about after losing Kylian Mbappe to Barca’s rivals, Real Madrid.
Rather than cashing in, Barcelona actually want to extend the youngster’s contract.
It’s clear that, injuries permitting, Lamine will be the next footballing superstar, though it’s unfair to label him as the ‘new Messi.’
That moniker was bandied around like confetti when Ansu Fati burst onto the scene, and just a handful of seasons later, after a serious injury, the player is nothing like he was previously.
What the refusal of the offer does evidence of course is that, finally, Barca appear to be seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel.
The depth of the squad and quality within it is as good as it’s been for years, and under Hansi Flick, the squad are developing brilliantly, winning eight of their nine La Liga games so far.
With Real Madrid on the horizon too, El Clasico will be a real test of how far they’ve come.
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