FC Barcelona executive Enric Masip revealed which club recently offered $211.65 million (€200 million) for its wonderkid Lamine Yamal, while appearing on popular Spanish television program El Chiringuito, as reported by Forbes

Masip was first asked if the teenager, who won the Euros with Spain last summer and has continued in fine form under Hansi Flick that has helped Barca top La Liga by six points.

“I would say that right now he is the most decisive player, yes. Let’s see. I don’t think that talking about a 17-year-old boy as the best in the world is good for him, okay?

“For us, yes… For us to think that we have the best in the world I think is nice,” Masip added.

Masip noted that while Lamine debuted as a 15-year-old in the spring of 2024, it has been in “the year where Mbappe decides to go to Madrid”, that “you get a 16-year-old boy who wins the European Championship, who becomes a world phenomenon in a very short time and suddenly you stand in a league that starts as Mbappé’s La Liga and a 17-year-old boy appears who begins to play in a happy way, who overflows, a different player”.

Masip said that this has been “like the icing of the cake” for Barca, and that while Vinicius Jr and Mbappe can “play with that speed, with that quality”, what Lamine does “is something that you saw in [Lionel] Messi”, “something different”.

“Can he be the best in the world? Yes, but it’s good that we stay calm,” Masip reiterated.

Masip accepted that comparisons between Messi and Lamine, which go beyond a viral photo of the Argentine “blessing” the winger when he was barely six months old, and accepted that “it’s going to be like that because the boy doesn’t leave you indifferent either”.

“In other words, every game he does something that leaves you with your mouth open. It’s a privilege for La Liga and Barca to have a player like that.”

Masip, one of the most trusted confidants Laporta has, further opened his mouth about the monstrous offer that came in for Lamine which Laporta himself confirmed during an episode of his podcast.

“The president has already said that he had an offer of €200 million that he rejected and that he never considered it,” Masip stated.

Then when asked where the bid came from, Masip answered: “It was from France”.

El Chiringuito host Josep Pederol said that Lamine would have been “the perfect substitute” for Mbappe, pushing Masip further to confirm that it was Paris Saint-Germain which tabled the offer.

Masip smiled, and said: “Well, when you have money and you have a way to pay for it [i.e. such a big transfer], then you can aspire to try to sign everyone”.

And though Masip didn’t mention PSG’s name outright it is only the Parisians that have that kind of cash and perhaps only them and Manchester City worldwide that boast it to come near smashing the world transfer record.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick criticised the “wrong decision” to disallow Robert Lewandowski’s goal for offside as his team were beaten 1-0 at Real Sociedad on Sunday in LaLiga.

Lewandowski thought he had opened the scoring at Anoeta in the 14th minute, but semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), introduced in Spain at the start of the season, ruled the striker’s toe was marginally ahead of La Real defender Nayef Aguerd’s foot.

The hosts went on to win the game through Sheraldo Becker’s strike, ending Barça’s seven-game winning streak in all competitions. For the first time this season, Flick’s team failed to find the net in a game.

“It was the wrong decision, clear,” Flick told Barça One after the match. “I saw the picture. It’s clear, it’s clear, but we have to accept it.

“It was not the referee’s fault. At the end of the day, we are humans, we make mistakes, and today was a big mistake.”

SAOT is not used universally across Europe. Italy’s Serie A was the first major league to implement it, and there is a desire to introduce it in the Premier League, but its rollout in England has been delayed as testing continues.

Flick was adamant it failed in Lewandowski’s goal. He aired his thoughts to the referee at half-time, although he played down the idea that he had come across as “angry” in the discussion.

Hansi Flick looks on during Barcelona’s loss to Real Sociedad, the second league defeat for his team this season. Getty Images
“It was not so angry,” he laughed in his post-game news conference. “I said only to him ‘It was a goal, it was wrong decision, it was not offside.’

“But it was not his fault. We have to accept it. Until then, with the 1-0 for us, it would be a different match. But at the end, it was different and it was not our day.

“At the end, it’s a defeat, but the matches before and after the last break were fantastic. I appreciate the team and how they are doing.”

Barça’s second league defeat of the season also came with Lamine Yamal watching from the stands after bruising his ankle in the midweek Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade.

The 17-year-old, who has six goals and eight assists in 16 appearances this season, did not start the last time Barça lost in LaLiga, either, against Osasuna in September.

“I think it would be an easy answer to say ‘OK, we lost because Lamine wasn’t there,'” Flick said when asked if it was just a coincidence they have lost both matches the teenager has not started.

“Of course a player like this quality Lamine has, every team will miss it. But in the end, we started well. I think the goal, what I can say was a wrong decision, absolutely, but we have to accept it.

“After the La Real goal we suffered a little bit. I think today was not our day, also in the offense we did not the clear chances to make goals. We made wrong decisions in the last third. We have to accept it today.”

Flick added that Barça’s and Spain’s doctors will now decide whether Yamal joins up with the national team for upcoming fixtures against Denmark and Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League.

The defeat to La Real sees Barça’s lead at the top of LaLiga cut to six points, while second-placed Real Madrid also have a game in hand. They return to action after the international break against Celta Vigo on Nov. 23.

Éder Militão suffered a torn ACL while Rodrygo and Lucas Vasquez were substituted in the first half of Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday to further compound their injury woes.

Vinícius Júnior scored a hat trick for Madrid, and Jude Bellingham netted his first goal of the season, but the victory was soured by the triple injury blow to Militão, Rodrygo and Vázquez.

“It was a good game, we controlled it well from the start,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “From when we opened the scoring, the team looked good. The shame is the injuries in the first half. We’re assessing them now, and we’ll see.

“Three injuries in the first half is quite strange. The calendar is demanding and doesn’t allow the players to rest, they go into games tired, so the risk of injuries is higher.”

Forward Rodrygo — who had only just returned to the team after recovering from a hamstring problem — was withdrawn in the 20th minute at the Bernabéu, and replaced by Brahim Díaz.

Centre-back Militão needed treatment 10 minutes later before being stretchered off, with youngster Raul Asencio being introduced in his place.

Madrid confirmed in a statement later on Saturday that Militão has torn his left ACL and will undergo surgery in the next few days. The Brazil international missed a majority of last season with an ACL tear in the same leg. It is the fourth ACL injury suffered by a Madrid player in the past year with Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba have having also suffered torn ACLs in the past year.

Full-back Vázquez was then withdrawn at halftime, and was replaced by Luka Modric.

Madrid are short in defence, with Dani Carvajal out for the season with a serious injury, and Alaba not yet fully recovered.

They are also without goalkeeper Courtois, who has a thigh injury, and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni — who sometimes fills in at the back — who has an ankle sprain.

“We have to thank the academy for the work they’ve done with [Asencio],” Ancelotti said. “He’s a player we need at this time … Raul has been doing well with [reserve team] Castilla and now he’ll be with us.”

Ancelotti wouldn’t say if the string of injuries made January signings more likely.

“We’ll assess it in the coming months,” he said. “Right now there’s nothing we can do. We’ll evaluate what we can do in January.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, because it hurts me to see my teammates crying,” Diaz said post-match when asked about the club’s injury woes.

“It breaks my heart. I’ve come back from a long injury and now it’s their turn. It seems like they could be longer than usual … It breaks my heart.”

Madrid had gone into the Osasuna game under pressure, after being beaten twice at home in their previous two matches, against Barcelona and AC Milan.

They now have a two-week break, before returning to action against Leganés on Nov. 24 and travelling to Anfield to play Liverpool in the Champions League on Nov. 27.

Saturday’s win leaves Madrid six points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who play on Sunday.