Bayern Munich’s “concrete” interest in Lamine Yamal saw the Bundesliga giants consider snapping up Barcelona’s prodigy before he even made his first-team debut—only for a proposed deal to fall through after a change in the player’s representation, reports in Germany state.
Yamal made his first senior appearance as a 15-year-old, established himself as a regular starter by 16 and was a European champion by the time he turned 17. However, the Spaniard’s talent was apparent even before his senior career had begun.
Bayern sent a two-man delegation of sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić and technical director Marco Neppe to Madrid to meet with the former Spanish player turned agent Iván de la Peña in February 2022.
Initially under the guise of discussing an approach for Gavi—who was only 17 at the time—the Bavaria-based pairing had set up the meeting with the hidden intention of luring away a 14-year-old Yamal, SPORT BILD’s Christian Falk claims.
The Bayern duo were described as “desperate” to secure a deal for the child phenom who was making a mockery of any opponent that came up against his academy side. De la Peña dutifully promised to pass on the admiration to Yamal’s parents, who Salihamidžić and Neppe were keen to meet in person as soon as possible.
Negotiations would never get that far. At the end of 2022, Yamal ditch De la Peña for the so-called super agent Jorge Mendes. The representative of stars from Cristiano Ronaldo to José Mourinho was reportedly more forthright when it came to a potential deal.
Yamal would not have been permitted to leave Spain for Munich until turning 16 in July 2023, but Mendes set Bayern a price tag six months in advance: €5 million ($5.9 million).
Considering Yamal is arguably the best player in the world in his position, if not any other, that sum looks like a steal. However, Bayern opted to bide their time before pulling the trigger on a 15-year-old who had not yet made his senior debut.
At around the same time, Paris Saint-Germain supposedly registered their interest in Yamal, who was set to be out of contract that summer. In an effort to dissuade these looming approaches, then-Barça boss Xavi Hernández reportedly handed Yamal his debut in April 2023 in return for his committment to the club.
After becoming the youngest player in Barcelona’s history aged 15 years and 291 days, Yamal soon penned a contract until June 2026 which contained a release clause worth €1 billion. By then, it would be too late for PSG, Bayern or any other suitor to tempt Yamal away from Catalonia.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: How Lamine Yamal Almost Left Barcelona for Just €5 Million.