Five milion euros for Yamal? Too much

It is well known that Europe’s biggest clubs have often, in the past, missed out on players who later turned out to be world-class. Arsene Wenger, for example, once brought Yaya Toure on trial at Arsenal and dismissed him as an average player.

But there are also cases where youngsters were spotted early, yet clubs hesitated to pay a relatively small sum to bring them into their ranks. One such case involves Bayern Munich and Lamine Yamal, as reported by Germany’s Bild.

The year was 2022. On the pitches of Barca’s La Masia academy, a kid with a strange haircut was tearing up the field. It was immediately clear he was someone who stood out. That kid was Yamal, and he wasn’t ordinary—he already looked ready for senior football at just 15 years old.

Do you know who else was ready for senior football at 15? Diego Maradona. Bayern had set their sights on bringing Lamine into their ranks. So impressed were they with his talent that they sent then-sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and technical director Marco Neppe to test the waters. Their mission: do everything possible to convince Yamal to move to Bavaria.

Bayern’s primary goal, however, was to sign Gavi, who had already broken into Barça’s first team, but they quickly noticed Yamal as well. The Bavarians’ cunning plan was to exploit Barcelona’s financial troubles and snatch away their two brightest gems at a bargain price.

There was no time to waste—Lamine was a once-in-a-generation talent. That’s why Salihamidzic and Neppe wanted to move fast and gain the upper hand before anyone else cast an eye on this extraordinary jewel. They even sought a direct meeting with the player’s parents, fully aware of how special he was.

The next step was negotiations with his agent. At that time, Yamal was represented by former Barca and Espanyol player Ivan de la Pena. He agreed to talks, but at the last moment, super-agent Jorge Mendes took Yamal under his wing. That’s when things got complicated. Mendes told Bayern’s representatives they would have to pay 5 million euros if they wanted to take the youngster.

Ex-France defender blasts Yamal: 'I can't stand him anymore!'

Bayern began to hesitate. In the end, they judged 5 million euros to be too high a price to pay for what was still an unproven teenager. And that is something they likely regret bitterly today, asking themselves what on earth they were thinking and how they could have let such a chance slip away.

Just a year later, Yamal made his debut for Barcelona, and from that moment, all doors for a transfer were firmly shut. Lamine became the youngest debutant in Blaugrana history, and shortly after, the club—fully aware of what they had—extended his contract until 2026. The rest, as they say, is history.

As for Bayern, well—let’s just say that none of the players they signed for the 2022/23 season are at the club today.