BARCELONA have turned down £172MILLION for one of their rising stars.
La Masia graduate Lamine Yamal was the subject of a mega offer from a fellow European giant.
Yamal, 16, broke into the first team at Barcelona this season and has managed four goals and six assists in his 28 league appearances this term.
And his rising stock has attracted interest from other top clubs as Barcelona club president Joan Laporta has revealed the club have turned down a £172m offer from Paris Saint Germain.
Speaking on a Barca Studios podcast, Laporta said: “We have received offers for players like Lamine Yamal, for €200m [£172m], and we have said no.
“Because we trust the boy, because he is the future of the team.
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“Because we trust in the boy, in his sporting potential, and we don’t have the need, on the contrary.
“We are in a process of economic recovery and we are already seeing the end of the tunnel”.
Spanish outlet Marca revealed that the offer came from PSG earlier this month.
Barcelona announced an eight-year agreement with Yamal last year that will see him sign fresh terms when he turns 18 – cementing his future in Catalonia.
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The winger hasn’t only burst onto the scene at Barcelona, but also the Spanish national team.
Last September Yamal became the youngest ever goalscorer for Spain when he netted on his debut for the national side just two months after his 16th birthday.
Barcelona’s decision to reject the monstrous bid from PSG may come as a surprise to many with the Catalan giants widely known to be in a period of financial difficulty.
A huge fee like the £172m offered for Yamal would allow Barcelona to cash in on a youth product and re-balance their books with effective “pure profit” from a financial fair play point of view.
But Laporta has made it clear the club won’t be selling any of their young stars despite offers coming in for most of the big name youngsters on the books at Barca.
He said: “We have offers for all our youngsters Pedri, [Alejandro] Balde, Gavi, [Ronald] Araujo… but we don’t want to sell our stars.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
