Lamine Yamal Becomes FC Barcelona’s 10th Player With €1 Billion Release Clause

FC Barcelona has confirmed that they have extended the contract of their 16-year-old talent, Lamine Yamal until June 30, 2026.

Interestingly, the contract extension came with a €1 billion release clause which could make it virtually impossible for any club to afford him.

This has been the practice of FC Barcelona since Paris Saint Germain triggered Neymar’s 222 million euro release clause in the summer of 2017.

The only player that has escaped this practice in recent history is Ousmane Dembele who had the upper hand in his contract negotiations and only permitted a realistic release clause. The Frenchman joined PSG for around €60 million in last summer’s transfer window.

As it stands, Lamine Yamal is the tenth FC Barcelona player who has a release clause of €1 billion inserted in his contract.

Others in this category are: Alejandro Balde (contract until 2028), Ferran Torres (2027), Raphinha (2027), Jules Kounde (2027), Pedri (2026), Ronald Araujo (2026), Gavi (2026), Darvich (in the reserve team and under contract until 2027), and Ansu Fati (2027) is currently on loan at Brighton.

After Lamine Yamal extended his contract with FC Barcelona earlier today, October 2, the club wrote on their website: “Lamine Yamal has whizzed up through the youth ranks and is regarded as one of the hottest properties to come out of La Masia in recent years. He was just 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old when he made his league debut against Betis on 29 April 2023, making him the youngest player ever to appear in a competitive fixture for the team.

“Xavi Hernandez has gradually been using his services more and more, and after joining the squad for its preseason tour, he became the youngest ever starter for FC Barcelona in a game against Cadiz this season, and against Royal Antwerp, he became the second youngest player ever to appear in the competition. And despite his youth, he has already won his first international cap for Spain. In a game against Georgia, he not only became the youngest player ever to play for ‘La Roja’, but also the youngest ever goalscorer.”