Barcelona’s teenage winger, Lamine Yamal could cost about £340m to buy, according to a Swiss research group which has assessed the value of leading players.
The CIES Football Observatory, external has calculated the 17-year-old would command a fee of 400m euros – close to double Neymar’s world-record transfer of 222m euros from Barcelona to Paris St-Germain in 2017.
The Spain youngster became the fifth-youngest player to make his La Liga debut aged 15 years and nine months.
He has scored 23 more goals than eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi had at the same age.
Yamal played a key role in Spain’s Euro 2024 success – winning young player of the tournament and goal of the tournament – as well as lifting two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey with Barcelona.
He won last year’s Golden Boy award, given to the best player in Europe aged under 21.
The six-year deal he signed with the Catalan club last week includes a one billion euro buy-out clause.
“This extraordinary figure is linked to equally extraordinary performances achieved at an age 18 in July, when most players, even the best, are just starting out at professional level”, the study’s reports said.
Its researchers work out the values of players using a statistical model it has created based on thousands of transactions over the past decade.
Yamal’s value was increased by having recently signed the new contract.
