Before the end of the year, de la Peña picked up the phone to call his friend Brazzo. The Spaniard wanted to tell him that their idea for Yamal had fallen through because Ronaldo’s powerful agent, Jorge Mendes, had poached his client. For de la Peña, it was a huge business blow, and for Bayern, devastating news. Lamine Yamal would no longer be advised by him, the agent announced. Bayern were briefly shaken by the shock. Soon after, Mendes’ phone rang in Portugal. The Portuguese star agent now had Bayern’s sporting director on the line.
Salihamidžić came forward with a clear question: What would FC Bayern have to do to bring Lamine Yamal to Munich in the summer of 2023? Mendes thought for a moment and replied: “That will cost you a few million euros.” The sporting director replied that he would first have to clarify such a transfer for such a young player with the supervisory board. However, he needed a more precise figure for that. Mendes replied: “I could possibly convince the family at five million euros.”