Barcelona have announced that their 17-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal has signed a new contract extension, committing his future to the La Liga giants for the foreseeable future.
Widely regarded as one of the most talented youngsters in the history of football, Yamal has been one of Barcelona’s leading lights this season as they’ve claimed a domestic treble while reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Here’s all you need to know about the teenager’s bumper new deal.
When did Yamal’s last contract expire?
Barcelona signed Yamal to his last contract back in 2023, the maximum three-year term for a player under the age of 18.
That deal was set to expire in 2026 – the end of next season. Even as Yamal’s stock rose and he approached the final 12 months of that commitment, there was little suggestion that any of Europe’s other elite clubs, or even a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, could tempt him away from his boyhood side.
Reports from the local Catalonian press suggested that Yamal, who is represented by superagent Jorge Mendes, was set to sign his latest deal when he turned 18 in July.
But Barcelona have evidently responded to his meteoric rise by moving negotiations forward and getting a deal done just two days after their stellar 2024-25 campaign concluded.
When does his new deal expire?
Yamal has just signed a six-year deal, running through to 2031.
As Barcelona’s Twitter notes, he’ll still only be 23 years of age when that deal runs its course.
Only a handful of players across Europe’s five major leagues – Erling Haaland (2034), Cole Palmer (2033), Nicolas Jackson (2033), Enzo Fernandez (2032), Oihan Sancet (2032) and Dani Vivian (2032) have current deals that run for a longer duration.
His latest deal surpasses the trio of Pedri, Gavi and Dani Olmo, all of whom are tied down at Barcelona until 2030.
What’s been said?
Barcelona’s official statement read as follows:
“FC Barcelona and Lamine Yamal have reached an agreement for the renewal of his contract which will now tie him to the Club until 30 June 2031.
“The player signed his new contract on Tuesday at the Club’s offices in the presence of FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, first vice president Rafa Yusta, and the Club’s sporting director Anderson Luis de Souza ‘Deco’, amongst others.
“A contract extension for Lamine Yamal is another demonstration of the solidity of the current Barça project. The Barça forward made his debut for the first team on 29 April 2023, at the age of just 15 and since then the lad from Mataró near Barcelona has exploded onto the stage that is world football with performances that are already part of FC Barcelona history.”
Barcelona’s social media team have unsurprisingly been milking the news for all it’s worth, tweeting statements including:
“Some players sign contracts. Others sign eras.”
“When a star is born, it’s referred to as a protostar.”
How much will Yamal earn?
No 17-year-old in football history has signed a contract this lucrative.
BEIN Sports report that Yamal will become one of the top earners in Hansi Flick’s squad, with a base salary of €15million per season—potentially rising to €20 million with performance-related bonuses.
That’s some way off the reported wages that experienced figures including Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie De Jong take home, while it’s only about half of Kylian Mbappe’s reported €31million salary.
His €15million a season base salary will put him around 35th in terms of the top-paid players across Europe’s five major leagues, putting him on parity with the likes of Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.
Is there a release clause?
Yamal’s last contract at Barcelona contained a symbolic €1billion release clause.
It’s customary in Spain for football contracts to contain a release clause, but Barcelona and Real Madrid often get around that by putting exorbitantly high clauses in. Vinicius Junior, Pedri, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe are among the other high-profile players to contain such a clause.
Barcelona haven’t officially announced whether there’s been a change to the release clause, but there are no suggestions that the status there has changed.
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