Laporta recalls rejecting €250 million PSG offer for Barcelona wonderkid – ‘People thought we were crazy’ | OneFootball

Speaking at the launch of his book “Així hem salvat el Barça” (“This is how we saved Barça”), former FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta recalled how his administration rejected a massive bid for teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.

Following his breakthrough campaign with the Blaugrana in 2023/24, in Xavi Hernandez’s final season in charge, Lamine attracted strong interest from PSG in the summer of 2024.

With the Parisian giants losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, they were looking for a statement signing in attack and had their sights on Lamine, despite him being only 17 at the time.

The youngster’s brilliant run at the UEFA Euro 2024, where he helped Spain lift the trophy, only strengthened PSG’s interest, prompting them to launch a mammoth €250 million bid, which Barça rejected.

Recalling that moment from his tenure as president, ahead of the upcoming elections, Laporta remarked (h/t Jijantes):

“When PSG offered us €250 million for Lamine Yamal, and we rejected it, he was 17 years old; some people thought we were crazy.”

Barcelona rejected €250 million for Lamine Yamal. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

It must be noted that at the time, Barça were in a difficult situation financially, and such a huge sale would have made things a lot easier for the club. However, Laporta’s administration opted to turn the offer down.

Since then, Lamine has continued to scale greater heights, establishing himself as one of the best forwards in the game currently, despite being only 18 years old.

The young La Masia product was key to Barcelona’s domestic treble success last season and even finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings.

Given his quality and potential, the sky is the limit for Lamine, with club legend Andres Iniesta backing him to win the Ballon d’Or sooner rather than later.