Barcelona have confirmed that teenage sensation Lamine Yamal has signed a new three-year contract with the club.
The 16-year-old’s previous terms were due to run out at the end of the current campaign, but he has committed his future to the Blaugrana until the summer of 2026, just after his 19th birthday.
Barcelona have also confirmed that Yamal’s renewal includes a €1bn (£866m) release clause, putting him in line with the likes of Ansu Fati, Raphinha, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Ferran Torres.
The Spain international is believed to have given the green light to a new deal back in the summer, but he did not officially put pen to paper with his boyhood club until Monday.
President Joan Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste, sporting director Deco and academy director Joan Soler were present for Yamal’s contract signing, as Barcelona secured the future of a player who has already broken a host of records in his fledgling career.
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The 2007-born winger – who has been with La Blaugrana since the age of seven – became Barcelona’s youngest-ever debutant when he came off the bench against Real Betis on April 29 at the age of 15.
Yamal has continued to impress head coach Xavi, who has handed him another nine first-team appearances so far this term, including four starts in the 2023-24 La Liga campaign.
Yamal is still waiting for his first Barcelona goal, but he became the youngest player to register a La Liga assist against Villarreal on August 27, setting up Gavi and Robert Lewandowski in a 4-3 triumph.
The teenager also played a crucial role in his side’s 1-0 win over Sevilla on Friday, as Sergio Ramos deflected Yamal’s cross into his own net in the 76th minute of the contest.
Prior to Friday’s success, Yamal made his Champions League debut as a substitute against Royal Antwerp, becoming the second-youngest player in the history of the competition behind Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko.
Yamal’s record-breaking exploits inevitably caught the eye of Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente, who included the 16-year-old in his squad for September’s Euro 2024 qualifiers with Cyprus and Georgia.
The La Masia graduate became his nation’s youngest appearance maker and goalscorer in a 7-1 win versus the latter, before playing 61 minutes of a 6-0 thumping of Cyprus four days later.
Yamal could now be in line for his first Champions League start against Porto on Wednesday night, as Raphinha has been ruled out for up to a month with the hamstring injury he sustained on Friday.
However, Xavi has affirmed that Barcelona will take care not to overload Yamal given his age, and the Barca boss also has Ferran Torres available to deputise on the right-hand side of the attack.
