BARCELONA: Barcelona star Lamine Yamal was reportedly almost snapped up by another European football giant when he was 14 years old, but famous agent Jorge Mendes blocked the move.
Despite only turning 18 last summer, Yamal has already made over 100 appearances for Barcelona’s first team and scored 27 goals.
Yamal has won two LaLiga titles with the Catalan club and was a key player in the Spanish squad that won the 2024 European Championship.
Among the individual awards he won were the ‘Golden Boy’ and the ‘Kopa Trophy’ which recognises the best young talent in world football.
According to German newspaper Bild, Bayern Munich once tried to sign the winger after their scouts presented footage of Yamal in action to the club’s management.
At that time, Bayern’s sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, and technical director, Marco Neppe, reportedly expressed their interest to Yamal’s agent, Ivan de la Pena.
De la Pena reportedly told Bayern officials that he would inform Yamal’s family of the interest and his willingness to discuss a transfer that could only happen when Yamal turns 16 in July 2023.
However, the deal fell through when Yamal changed his agent to Jorge Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, who signed him as a client.
However, Bayern management is reportedly delaying the decision to pay a large transfer fee for the 14-year-old.
Yamal finally made his debut with the Barcelona senior squad at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 16 days when he came on as a substitute for Gavi at the end of a LaLiga match in April 2023.
Barcelona then extended Yamal’s contract until 2026 when the winger became a regular in the first squad.