Lamine Yamal is the name that has taken the soccer world by storm. Giving an introduction about the teenager almost feels redundant, as one might have to witness his meteoric rise through their eyes. His fanbase continues to take a double fold, and the latest to join his admirers is the one and only, Pat McAfee. Following the youngster’s heroics representing Spain in the UEFA Euros, McAfee fervently backs Yamal ‘to be in the MLS tomorrow’ and deserves a lucrative contract, similar to what Lionel Messi got from Inter Miami.

The American commentator invited his usual crew to the latest episode of the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN FC. Interestingly, the topic of the FC Barcelona youngster came into discussion, which saw McAfee expressing being in awe of Yamal. He said, “This guy might be the most talented soccer player on earth. He’s 17 years old, and he was on the best team in the Euros.”

McAfee added, “That 17-year-old kid needs to be in the MLS tomorrow,” suggesting that the forward can change the outlook of the beautiful game on American soil. While his crew suggested teams like the New England Revolution, McAfee concluded, “Somebody needs to give him the entire team. Let him own a team.”

It seems like Yamal has left a similar kind of impression on the Americans that Messi has since the Argentine arrived in the MLS. Notably, the 17-year-old has often drawn parallels with his current club’s icon. Hence, McAfee insists that a contract similar to La Pulga’s $50m per annum deal with Herons can do the trick.

However, it’s unlikely that either Barcelona or the player himself would be interested. But that doesn’t rule out the fact that teams don’t have an interest in Yamal!

FC Barcelona rejected a world-record transfer fee for Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal’s performance in the middle of the Euros already saw him become the highest prospect in the transfer market. As per the reports from EFE, Barcelona rejected a world transfer record-breaking fee of over $270 million. While the anonymous source didn’t reveal where the offer was from, it is being said that PSG is the one to target the teenage sensation, having lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.

Even the Catalans president Joan Laporta made the revelation over the interest of other teams in Yamal: “We have offers for players like Lamine Yamal worth €200 million, and we have said no.”

Notably, Barca has learned their lesson since they lost Neymar to PSG in a world-record transfer of $240 million. What the La Liga side felt beyond imagination saw the Parisians pay his full release clause. Perhaps this explains why Barcelona has set Yamal’s clause to a whopping $1.082 billion. After all, the Blaugrana considers him a “non-transferable as a cornerstone of [its] sporting project”.

Forget the MLS, now, even the riches of the Saudi Pro League would shake out to pay this exorbitant sum.