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.
