fcb.jpg
Getty Images
Lamine Yamal signed a new contract with Barcelona on Tuesday that will keep him at the club until 2031, teasing that the 17-year-old will become a focal point of the club's plans for the future. Yamal was a key contributor for Barcelona during the 2024-25 season, playing 55 matches across all competitions as the team won La Liga and the Copa del Rey. The 17-year-old scored 18 goals and notched 21 assists along the way, earning a spot in La Liga's team of the season.
Representatives for Yamal and Barcelona had been in discussions for months about a new deal since his previous contract expired in 2026. He was previously limited to signing deals that were a maximum of three years as a player under the age of 18, but he turns 18 in July. The midfielder has reportedly earned a pay raise, but terms of the new deal are not currently known, per ESPN.
Yamal joins teammate Raphinha and manager Hansi Flick in signing new contracts at Barcelona, which marks a vote of confidence in the current group after their double-winning season.
Yamal's importance for Barcelona
For Barcelona, agreeing to a new deal with Yamal is a no-brainer – not only is he one of their best players, but the 17-year-old is poised to be the club's biggest star for years to come.
Between his breakout during the 2023-24 campaign, his standout showing with Spain at last year's Euros and his excellence during Barcelona's double-winning season, Yamal has truly established himself as one of the sport's greatest rising talents. He is already earning comparisons to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, too – he had 50 goals and assists in his first 100 games, just six behind Messi at that stage in his club career and well ahead of Ronaldo's tally of 27 at that time.
Yamal's rise offers yet another example that Barcelona's greatest strength remains their academy, which has churned out scores of notable talents including Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. Flick's double-winning side included several other homegrown talents, like Pedri and Gavi.
The fact that Barcelona can continue to rely on their academy, though, is especially good news for a cash-strapped club. The club's years-long financial crisis has made it incredibly difficult to sign top talents available through the transfer market, so much so that they struggled to register Dani Olmo last winter and needed Spain's National Sports Council to officially clear him to play. Their financial constraints wreaked havoc during Xavi's stint as the manager from 2021 to 2024 but there are positive takeaways from that experience – academy products were able to earn valuable experience that paid off with this year's trophies.