Lamine Yamal is widely considered to be Barcelona’s most exciting youth prospect. The 15-year-old has been called up to Xavi Hernandez’s first team for the last three matches, and he could make his debut before the season is out.
However, despite club officials rating him incredibly highly, he may not be at Barcelona for too much longer. According to Joan Fontes, his future has been complicated due to a number of different factors.
Yamal’s parents are self-confessed Real Madrid supporters, and him being at Barcelona appears to have not gone down too well. Yamal’s youth contract expires at the end of next season, and the club want to offer him a professional deal this summer.
To do so, they have requested him to stay in La Masia, in order to ensure that his parents’ influence doesn’t rub off on his decision making. To furtherly convince him to sign on, he has been called up to the matchdays for the first team, despite his importance to the club’s U19 squad.
Jorge Mendes recently took over Yamal’s representation from Ivan De la Pena, who had reportedly been left “worn out” by the youngster’s situation. This could bode well for Barcelona, who have a very good relationship with the Portuguese agent.
Barcelona appear to be fearful of losing Yamal, whose potential is believed to be on par with the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta’s. Given the circumstances, they will be desperate to secure his re-signing this summer.
