Lamine Yamal is tipped to become the next Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but he could have been playing his football elsewhere had he joined another European powerhouse back in 2022. The Spanish wonderkid is breaking records nearly every time he steps out onto the pitch for club and country.
The 18-year-old is the youngest debutant in Barca history (15 years, nine months and 16 days), the Blaugrana's youngest-ever goalscorer (16 years and 87 days) and La Liga title winner (15 years and 305 days). He has also made plenty of history for Spain, including playing a star role in their European Championship triumph last summer, starting that tournament at the age of 16.
The Catalans believe they have unearthed the closest thing to their eight-time Ballon d'Or-winning king Messi. But the exciting teenage winger nearly slipped through their fingers before debuting for the senior team.
Lamine Yamal Nearly Joined Barcelona's European Rivals
FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates
LaLiga - Rayo Vallecano v FC Barcelona - Campo de Futbol de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain - August 31, 2025 FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Yamal is said to have a jaw-dropping €1 billion release clause in the six-year contract he signed with Barcelona back in May. That, quite frankly, makes it impossible for clubs to swoop for the Spaniard unless they are prepared to majorly risk PSR and replicate the shock Neymar transfer back in 2017.
That's why Bayern Munich will be ruing missing out on Yamal when he was 14, as the Bundesliga giants were keen to bring him to the Allianz Arena. The Bavarians reportedly made a "serious attempt" to sign him after their scouts were shown clips of the youngster in action, per German outlet BILD.
Bayern's former sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, and technical director, Marco Neppe, expressed the club's interest. This came during a meeting about a possible transfer for Gavi and Barca officials were told the intention to speak to the winger's family.
The proposed switch seemed possible until the 23-cap Spain international switched representation to Jorge Mendes. The Portuguese super agent knows how to drive a hard bargain, having represented Cristiano Ronaldo throughout his career, overseeing his record-breaking £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009.
Mendes informed the club officials that it would take a fee of around €5 million (£4.3m) to tempt Yamal and his family to make the move to Germany. Bavarian officials delayed a decision to pay such a substantial fee, and he soon broke into Barca's first team, where he has quickly become an undisputed starter.
PSG Also Tried Signing Lamine Yamal
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Yamal's meteoric rise also caught the attention of officials at the Parc des Princes, who haven't been afraid to splash the cash on the biggest stars in world football. Paris Saint-Germain paid a world-record €222 million to sign Neymar from Barcelona after paying the Brazilian's release clause.
Neymar, much like Yamal, was expected to take the baton from Messi in Catalonia but instead opted to move to Paris. He departed after a difficult end to his spell in the French capital, but Nasser Al-Khelaifi was seemingly ready to do business with Barca once again.
Fabrizio Romano revealed in March 2024 that PSG had approached the La Liga club with a view to signing Yamal that summer. Club president Joan Laporta said he turned down a proposal worth €200m for Yamal.
That alleged proposal was made when the Blaugrana were still enduring financial difficulties, which speaks volumes about the Spanish starlet's importance to his boyhood club. Luis Enrique's European Champions denied making formal offers, but there was obvious interest in a player who could soon dominate the Ballon d'Or podium.