Over the past year, Lamine Yamal, a Barcelona wonderkid, has seen a stratospheric increase in popularity. After an incredible breakthrough campaign for both club and country, the 16-year-old has gone from being a relatively unknown commodity to a household name.

In fact, the La Masia alumnus has already made a name for himself at Barcelona and is currently doing the same with the Spanish national team.

The adolescent star made his European Championship debut with La Roja last weekend, setting several records in the process.

As of right now, Massimo Franchi, the man behind the coveted Golden Boy 2024 Award, believes Yamal will emerge victorious, and he has a bold prediction about the Barcelona star’s future.

Franchi asserts that Yamal might receive a call from PSG.

To prevent teams from stealing him away, Yamal inked a massive €1 billion release clause in his new deal with Barcelona last year.

However, Massimo Franchi shockingly stated that PSG may plan a raid for Yamal to replace Kylian Mbappe in an interview with Philipp Kessler, which was made public to Barça Universal.

Franchi made the shocking remark, “I wouldn’t be surprised if one day – perhaps on August 31 – the newspapers announce that he will become Kylian Mbappé’s replacement at Paris Saint-Germain.”

The next big thing in football. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

“Possibly even at a price that exceeds the previous record transfer fee of €222 million that PSG paid for Neymar. Maybe the French club will get Yamal for 250 million euros. That’s something that’s in my head.”

When asked if he really believes PSG could break the bank on a player who is just 16 years old, Franchi replied in the affirmative, saying:

“When I think of a future superstar, I can only think of Lamine Yamal. His release clause at FC Barcelona is €1 billion. But Barca has financial problems.

“I recently asked Nasser Al-Khelaifi who he would like to sign next. He said that the only top star next season will be coach Luis Enrique. But I don’t believe him in this case. PSG have too much money.”

“The temptation is too great to use it. And, in the end, I think temptation will win. As in a famous Oscar Wilde saying: ‘I can resist anything except temptation’”, he added.

It must be noted that there had been rumours of PSG making a €200 million bid for Yamal to replace Mbappe, who is headed to Real Madrid, but they died down soon enough.

The 16-year-old, for his part, claimed in an interview as recently as last night that he wishes to stay at Barcelona for a long time and become a club legend.

Praise for Yamal

The contender for 2024 Golden Boy. (Photo by Rafa Babot/Getty Images)

In the interview, Franchi also gave Yamal some credit, referring to him as a “no-limit player.”

“At just 16 years and 338 days old, his record-breaking debut at Euro 2024 against Croatia validates every expectation that has been placed on him.” Just a “no limit” gamer, according to the Golden Boy Award’s creator.

“It only took him ninety minutes at the Olympiastadion in Berlin to become unquestionably Spain’s new star,” he continued.

In response to a question about any shortcomings in his playing, Franchi stated that Yamal is still only 16 years old and that he does not score many goals at this time.

“At the moment, he doesn’t score as many goals as he should, but he still manages to score a few goals considering his immense talent and limitless skill set. But please, he’s just sixteen! You must take into account this crucial factor, he said.

“Because he would undoubtedly be the new Pelé if he scored that many goals in the real, contemporary, incredibly quick, and extremely intense football!”