Lamine Yamal, now hailed because the brightest jewel of FC Barcelona, might have taken a really completely different path in his profession. At this time, the 17-year-old winger is seen because the inheritor to Lionel Messi’s legacy at Camp Nou, however in accordance with stories from BILD, Yamal was solely a step away from becoming a member of Bayern Munich again in 2022. The German giants have been ready to pay €5 million to safe his signature earlier than he ever debuted beneath Xavi Hernández in 2023.
The report reveals that a number of Bayern Munich executives met in Madrid with Yamal’s agent, Iván De La Peña, in 2022. On the time, the plan was clear: as soon as Yamal turned 16 in 2023, Bayern would activate the deal, paying €5 million in a transaction that will have benefited each Barcelona and the participant’s household financially.
Bayern considered Yamal as a long-term funding, particularly as Barcelona was going through critical monetary struggles. This was additionally the summer time when Robert Lewandowski left Bayern for Barcelona, a transfer that induced inside rigidity on the Bundesliga membership. Snatching away the Catalans’ prime prospect would have been seen as each an announcement of energy and a strategic transfer for the longer term.
The person main the talks was Hasan Salihamidžić, Bayern’s sporting director on the time. Negotiations have been described as troublesome however superior, with Yamal’s camp reportedly leaning towards accepting the deal, given the uncertainty at Barcelona.
Lamine Yamal is now a candidate for the Ballon d’Or and shall be one of many nice gamers of the approaching years.
Jorge Mendes steps in
The switch, nonetheless, by no means materialized, thanks largely to the intervention of super-agent Jorge Mendes. As soon as Yamal formally turned 16, Mendes brokered a cope with Barcelona that included his first skilled contract and a fast-tracked debut beneath Xavi.
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The timing proved essential. Barcelona not solely tied Yamal to the membership long-term but additionally gave him the prospect to make his LaLiga debut in 2023, throughout a season the membership would go on to win. That chance modified the trajectory of his profession and ensured that the €5 million Bayern had put aside for his signing by no means left the Allianz Area.
