Barca official suggests PSG behind €250M bid for Yamal

Barcelona official Enric Masip has dropped a huge hint over the identity of the club that submitted a gargantuan bid for Lamine Yamal last summer.

"It came from France," Masip, who advises Barcelona president Joan Laporta, told Spanish TV show "El Chiringuito," as translated by ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Laporta claimed in October that the club turned down a €250-million offer for the teenage attacker. Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain have struck the 15 most expensive incoming deals in Ligue 1 history, according to figures from Transfermarkt, and were linked with Yamal while they sought a replacement for Kylian Mbappe during the summer transfer window.

Masip said the offer "was rejected and never even considered."

Asked whether the approach came from PSG, Masip replied: "When you have the money to spend, you can aspire to try and sign whoever you want."

Yamal was on the periphery of the first-team squad when Barca won La Liga in 2023. His reputation soared the next season when he made 37 league appearances and featured 10 times in the Champions League. He then played in all seven matches of Spain's victorious Euro 2024 run despite turning 17 the day before the final.

The Catalonian-born winger became the youngest-ever scorer for Spain in September 2023. He broke the record as the youngest player to feature at a European Championship in June 2024, then became the youngest-ever Euros scorer with his memorable curling finish from outside the box in La Roja's semifinal against France.

Despite Yamal's tender years, Masip described him as "the most decisive player" in the world. He's scored five goals and contributed seven assists in 12 La Liga appearances this season but is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.

"I wouldn't say we have won the lottery, but the year that Mbappe decides to go to (Real) Madrid - which was the cherry on top of the cake for a team that had won La Liga and the Champions League - you have a 16-year-old kid appear who wins the European Championship and becomes a global phenomenon in a very short time," Masip said of Yamal.

He added: "Every game he does something that leaves you with your mouth open. It's a privilege for La Liga and Barca to have a player like that."