At just 17 years old, Lamine Yamal is already at the top of world football in terms of potential… and salary. His new contract with FC Barcelona, extended until 2031, would turn the heads of even the most established players. With an estimated gross annual salary of €40 million, Yamal now earns more than several key figures at the club, including Raphinha, Pedri, and even Frenkie de Jong.
But behind the excitement of such a lucrative deal lies a darker truth: a once-glorious club sinking deeper into financial instability.
📈 An Uncontrolled Wage Explosion
Barcelona seems to be repeating its old mistakes. After promising a wage control policy post-Messi, the payroll is now ballooning again.
- In 2021, the club reported a staggering debt exceeding €1.3 billion.
- Today, it continues to offer multi-million euro contracts, despite tight restrictions from La Liga.
- The €1 billion release clause for Yamal is symbolic, but his salary is very real—and a heavy burden on the club’s finances.
⚠️ The Downside of Massive Salaries
These kinds of contracts create several structural problems for FC Barcelona:
1. 💸 Economic Imbalance
Paying a teenager this much money pushes other players to demand raises. This creates a snowball effect that’s difficult to contain.
2. ⚖️ Dressing Room Tension
How do you justify a 16-year-old earning more than senior players who give everything on the pitch every weekend? Internal friction is inevitable.
3. 🔐 Less Flexibility in the Transfer Market
With so much money tied up in wages, the club loses its ability to invest smartly. UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules are increasingly hard to meet.
4. 🔄 An Unsustainable Economic Model
Barça is forced to activate risky financial levers (selling TV rights, long-term sponsorships, etc.) just to stay afloat. This is not a stable model.
👶 Too Young, Too Rich?
Yamal’s case also raises ethical and psychological questions. Handing tens of millions to a player who isn’t even legally an adult can have dangerous effects on personal development. Media pressure, unrealistic expectations, temptations… Modern football exposes its young stars far too early.
🧠 Time for a Wake-Up Call: When Does Football Cross the Line?
Yamal’s salary isn’t a reward for a long career, but rather a risky investment in an uncertain future. If the gamble pays off on the pitch, Barcelona may rejoice. But if Yamal stagnates, gets injured, or fails to deliver, the club will bear a massive moral and financial cost.
And isn’t this the very logic that led Barça into its current crisis?
📌 Conclusion
This isn’t about questioning Lamine Yamal’s talent. It’s about exposing the absurdity of a system that overvalues youth while ignoring the long-term consequences.
Barça is playing with fire once again.
Football should be a game — not a speculative bubble waiting to burst.
