Liverpool & Man City given hope of shock Lamine Yamal transfer

Barcelona's continued financial struggles have given Liverpool and Manchester City an outside hope of pulling off a shock move for Lamine Yamal.

The teenage phenom has repeatedly stressed his desire to remain at Barcelona long after his current contract expires in 2026 and the club are adamant that Yamal is going nowhere. However, the economic reality may force a different outcome - as it famously did with Lionel Messi in 2021.

Despite successfully winning their appeal to keep Dani Olmo on the pitch, La Liga revealed this week that Barcelona are still in breach of the division's strict financial fair play rules. Manager Hansi Flick is openly "concerned" about the situation and club president Joan Laporta could not offer him or the fans any reassurances.

Yamal's agent Jorge Mendes is described as "cautious" about Barcelona reneging on terms that have not been put down on paper and remain "subject to review". The Portuguese representative has been stung by the club before after permanent deals for Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix fell through.

The Catalan giants plan on giving Yamal a contract which stretches to 2030 and would put him at the "top of the squad's salary scale".

Yet, whether they have the financial scope to fulfil those ambitions is very much up in the air. La Liga confirmed this week that the €100m VIP seating deal supposedly agreed by Barcelona at the end of 2024 was never included in the club's accounts.

"Neither on 31 December [2024], nor on 3 January [2025], nor today, do Barcelona have the margin to comply with financial fair play," a pointed statement from the league read.

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