Yamal reminds Barca of Messi's lesson

During his career at Barcelona, ​​Lionel Messi renewed his contract 9 times, averaging less than 2 years. This has caused the club's finances to fall into disarray. The "Blaugrana" leadership does not want to repeat the mistake of Lamine Yamal.

In an interview with AS , Yamal said he did not want to discuss his contract until the end of the season, when all the games were over and Barcelona could be celebrating one of the three major trophies. Agent Jorge Mendes has repeatedly said that Yamal is "100% staying", but the renewal process will not be easy.

Yamal signed a contract with Barcelona in the summer of 2023, until 2026. At that time, because he was a minor, he was only allowed to sign for a maximum of 3 years according to regulations. The two sides had previously agreed to extend the contract until 2030 when he turned 18.

However, Yamal's meteoric rise over the past two years has rendered the old terms obsolete. Now the club is forced to sit down at the negotiating table and also have to calculate carefully to avoid the same mistake that happened to Messi.

Between 2005 and 2017, Messi signed or changed his contract nine times, starting under President Joan Laporta. Each time Messi shone or helped the team win a title, his salary was increased. As a result, his compensation gradually became unmanageable, far beyond the club's ability to pay.

Barca do not want to repeat the mistake with Yamal.

In 2005, M10 signed a contract extension until 2010, but only 3 months later received a pay rise. Two years later, he signed a new contract until 2014. In 2008, when he began to make a strong impression under Pep Guardiola, M10's contract terms were adjusted again.

After the historic treble in 2009, Messi signed another contract extension. The period from 2012 to 2017 saw four more signings, with the last one coming just a few months after the previous one, making him the most frequently renewed player in the club's history.

Each renewal with Messi is a bigger financial burden for Barca. As a result, when the financial crisis occurred in 2021, the club could not keep Messi, even though he wanted to stay.

At the age of 16, Yamal has become an indispensable pillar of Barcelona. And according to many experts, his level is comparable to the best players in the world today. It is not surprising that Yamal will soon be offered a top salary in the team.

However, Barca does not want to fall into the cycle of players shining, demanding improved contracts, increasing salaries, then shining and increasing again. Instead, the club aims for long-term extensions and gradually increasing salaries according to specific milestones. That will help keep the star from Rocafonda and help stabilize the financial situation.

With Yamal's immense potential, Barcelona know that keeping him is of utmost importance. But unlike Messi's time, they will act more cautiously, so as not to put themselves in a difficult position again.

Yamal's masterpiece helps Barca reverse the score against Atletico. In the early morning of March 17, Barca lost by 2 goals but still defeated host Atletico Madrid 4-2 in round 28 of La Liga.