Fabrizio Romano reveals 2 Barcelona stars have signed long-term deals
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Barcelona's two rising stars Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde have signed contract extensions.
According to the transfer expert, both Yamal, 16, and Balde, 19, signed their new deals in July during pre-season. Yamal's new contract runs till 2026, which is a limit for a player of his age. Balde has, meanwhile, extended his stay at the Camp Nou till 2028.
An announcement from Barcelona is yet to be made, but Romano says that it's forthcoming. The Spanish teenager's new deals are massive coups for the the Blaugrana amid both players' incredible start to their career.
Yamal has made history, becoming Barca's youngest player this century. His debut against Real Betis last season came when he was just 15 years and nine months, making him their youngest debutant.
The exciting young winger's meteoric rise has many deeming him the best La Masia academy graduate since Lionel Messi. He also scored on his international debut for Spain, making him his nation's youngest player and goalscorer.
RadioMARCA claims that Manchester City made an approach to sign Yamal in the summer. However, their attempts were swiftly rejected by the La Liga giants, and the youngster wanted to stay at the club.
Meanwhile, Balde has quickly established himself as Xavi's first-choice right-back. He has made 54 appearances across competitions, scoring one goal and providing seven assists.
The Spaniard has displaced Jordi Alba as Barcelona's starting left-back and is looking likely to do so on the international stage. He has six caps with La Roja to date and made four appearances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Barcelona manager Xavi suggests hypocrisy from media over his handling of Lamine Yamal
Many within the Spanish media questioned Barcelona boss Xavi's decision to start Yamal with the likes of Ansu Fati available as options. However, doubts over the Spanish wonderkid being too hastily thrown into action were quickly put to bed.
Yamal has shone as a starter for Barca this season and has two assists in four La Liga games. Now that he's being handed game time regularly, there are some opining that he should be rested to not risk burnout.
Xavi gave a frosty response to those suggestions (via Barca Universal):
"The Lamine Yamal case is strange because you journalists told me three weeks ago that I did not dare to start him, and now you are telling me that he should rest. ... We will treat him like any other player."
Lamal hasn't looked fazed by the magnitude of his scintillating start to life with the Blaugrana. He's expected to start when his side clash with Real Betis on Saturday (September 16). The game comes just four days after the Barca starlet was representing Spain on international duty.