According to former Barcelona president Joan Laporta, the team rejected a record-breaking transfer deal for teenage star Lamine Yamal. Speaking at the book presentation for “This Is How We Saved Barca,” Laporta disclosed that Paris Saint-Germain was willing to spend €250 million to get the young player to the Parc des Princes.
Yamal became a primary objective for PSG in the summer of 2024 after making a huge impact with the Catalan giants during the 2023–24 season. Despite the young player’s young age of 17, the French superpower was in dire need of a star attacking addition after Kylian Mbappe left for Real Madrid. The Parisians’ pursuit was heightened by his masterclass during Spain’s successful Euro 2024 campaign, which resulted in an incredible €250 million offer that the Barcelona board ultimately rejected.
The offer would have eclipsed the current world-record fee of €222m that PSG paid for Neymar in 2017, but the Blaugrana hierarchy stood firm despite their well-documented financial struggles. Reflecting on the decision, Laporta admitted that many outsiders questioned the club’s logic in walking away from such a monumental sum.
“When PSG offered us €250 million for Lamine Yamal, and we rejected it, he was 17 years old; some people thought we were crazy,” Laporta remarked according to reports from Jijantes.
Deciding to reject €250m for a teenager was a massive gamble for a club that has spent much of the last five years navigating a bridge of economic uncertainty. A sale of that magnitude would have effectively wiped out significant portions of the club’s debt and provided immediate flexibility in the transfer market. However, Laporta and his team viewed Yamal as an “untouchable” asset, believing that his long-term sporting value and commercial appeal far outweighed even a world-record influx of cash.
The 18-year-old’s trajectory has certainly justified the club’s “crazy” stance. Since the offer was rebuffed, Yamal has become a global icon, with club legend Andres Iniesta even backing the youngster to secure the Ballon d’Or in the near future. The teenager has become the face of the post-Messi era at Camp Nou, proving that some talents are simply too precious to put a price tag on, regardless of the bank balance.
The revelation underscores Barcelona’s commitment to building their future around the cream of the La Masia crop. Yamal, who played a starring role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, has since established himself as one of the most feared attackers in world football. His rise was a rare bright spot during Xavi’s final season in charge, and under Hansi Flick, he has helped the club return to the pinnacle of Spanish football, securing a domestic treble last season and finishing as the runner-up in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings.
Former board member Joan Soler further highlighted this policy of retention, noting that Yamal wasn’t the only homegrown star targeted by European heavyweights. Soler, as reported by SPORT, confirmed that there was a very important offer for Fermín from Chelsea this summer, but the club had no intention of cashing in. saying: “There was a very important offer for Fermín from Chelsea this summer, but the player didn’t want to leave, and we didn’t want to sell. Barca shouldn’t be a selling club, and we have to retain our homegrown players. We also had a €250m offer to sell Lamine [Yamal] in recent years. It came through agents, and that deal also fell through.”
