Lamine Yamal received offer to leave Barcelona in transfer that would have changed football history but Xavi blocked it happening
Barcelona winger and 2025 Ballon d’Or hopeful Lamine Yamal reportedly once received a lucrative offer from another elite club, but the deal was ‘blocked’ by then-Barca head coach Xavi Hernandez.
Yamal, 17, is one of the most talked-about players in world football and has already been part of Barcelona sides that have won La Liga, the Supercopa de España and the Copa del Rey to go alongside his Euro 2024 triumph with the Spain national team.
It already feels like Yamal has been playing at the highest level for some time, given the fact that he made his Barca debut at just 15 years and 290 days old when he appeared against Real Betis in April 2023.
Xavi was the man who unleashed Yamal for the first time, but he may have also stopped him from moving to another club.
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Back in November 2024, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo published a report which claimed that Barca’s president, Joan Laporta, had rejected a €200 million offer (£172.5m) for Yamal.
In July of the same year, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain denied having made an offer.
The report also claimed that PSG had earlier pursued a potential move for Yamal when he was still 15 and had yet to sign a professional contract at the Catalan club.
The outlet reported: “His then-representative, Iván de la Peña , did receive an offer from the French club. It was daunting for such a young kid, on the verge of becoming a professional.”
Essentially, Yamal could’ve left Barcelona for Paris on a free transfer before Xavi reportedly intervened and spoke with the youngster, promising to give him his first-team debut, which he later did.
The teenager then signed a new six-year contract at Barca in May 2025.
And PSG may prove to be a theme throughout Yamal’s career as the French side will likely go toe-to-toe with Barca in the Champions League in upcoming seasons.
From a personal point of view, Yamal will also battle with fellow Ballon d’Or contenders and PSG stars Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha for the 2025 edition of the coveted award.
According to TNT Sports’ power rankings, the Portugal international is currently favourite to pick up the award, while Dembele and Yamal are second and third.
And if Yamal fails to win this year’s award, it would be wise to assume that he will be in the running in future seasons.
The Spanish youngster made his feelings clear on the Ballon d’Or earlier this year.
"At the end of the day, I don't think about the [Ballon d'Or] or if I will win it because I believe it will go badly if you think you need to win the Ballon d'Or or that you have to win the Ballon d'Or," Yamal told COPE in May.
"I think about playing, winning ... and it will come. At the end of the day, if next year I win the Champions League and the World Cup, it will come. It's about enjoying yourself, and it will arrive when it has to arrive."
Topics: Lamine Yamal, PSG, Xavi, Ballon d'Or, Football, La Liga, Transfer News, FC Barcelona
Luke Davies