New Mohamed Salah? Barça snatch away Bayern’s dream player | OneFootball

FC Bayern have lost out in the race for one of Africa’s most exciting young talents. Hamza Abdelkarim has not moved to Munich but to FC Barcelona, meaning Bayern have lost a direct transfer duel against the Catalans

It was first leaked back in May 2025 that the German record champions were looking closely at the then 17-year-old striker from Al Ahly. Abdelkarim is regarded as the talent of the century in Egypt and is already being touted as a potential „new Mohamed Salah“ in his home country. After his strong performances at the U17 World Cup at the latest, the attacker finally became the focus of several top European clubs

According to the Spanish newspaper AS, Bayern had recently made their interest more concrete and even submitted an official offer for the attacking player, with the aim of signing Abdelkarim in the winter and building up his prospects at the Bayern campus

Barcelona outdo the record champions

photo: IMAGO

Bayern’s plan did not work out, however, and FC Barcelona secured the deal instead. Abdelkarim will initially join the Catalans on loan until the end of the season, where he will initially play for Barça Atlètic, the club’s second team, and gradually be introduced to the professional game

Particularly bitter from Munich’s point of view: Barcelona is said to have secured a purchase option as part of the deal, which according to the report is around five million euros – a sum that is considered manageable in international comparison for a talent of this caliber

Although the missed Abdelkarim transfer is annoying for FC Bayern, it is no reason for actionism. The Munich club continues to rely heavily on its own youth development and already has a highly talented attacking talent in its ranks with players such as Lennart Karl

Nevertheless, the case of Abdelkarim shows once again how intense the competition for the best talents worldwide has become – and that even the record champions cannot win every duel.