Barcelona revisit Neymar lesson with Hamza Abdelkarim contract

Barcelona are considering increasing the release clause in Hamza Abdelkarim’s contract from €15m to €150m, according to reports in Spain, as the club continues to strengthen its protection of promising players following Neymar’s controversial departure to Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 after the French club paid €222m to activate the Brazil forward’s release clause. The deal was the most expensive transfer in football history at the time, but its impact on Barcelona extended beyond the transfer market.

The Catalan club subsequently concluded that even a clause worth €222m could not guarantee that major European rivals would be unable to take their leading players. Barcelona therefore changed its approach, moving away from clauses based largely on a player’s perceived market value and towards figures designed to make an enforced departure almost impossible.

That policy became clear in the contracts agreed or renewed after Neymar’s exit. Lionel Messi’s release clause was set at €700m, while those of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were placed at €500m.

Clauses worth €400m were included in the contracts of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Arthur Melo. Sergi Roberto’s clause rose from €40m to €500m, while Samuel Umtiti’s increased from €60m to €500m.

Barcelona raised the figure further in 2019 by inserting an €800m release clause into Antoine Griezmann’s contract. In October 2021, the club announced that Pedri’s new deal included a €1bn clause. Ansu Fati, whose contract was extended until 2027 that month, was given the same level of protection.

Ronald Araujo’s new contract, announced by Barcelona in April 2022, also contained a €1bn release clause. Gavi joined that group in September of the same year.

The policy was maintained with Lamine Yamal. In October 2023, Barcelona announced that the Spain international had signed a deal running until June 2026 with a €1bn release clause.

Abdelkarim is now the latest young player to become part of that wider debate. The Egypt forward, who is not yet 18, has emerged as one of the club’s most highly regarded prospects in recent months.

His current clause is €15m, a figure Barcelona reportedly believes is too low given his development and the growing interest in him. Spanish reports say the club wants to negotiate a new contract with improved terms and increase the clause tenfold to €150m.

That figure would remain well below the €1bn clauses included in the contracts of Pedri, Gavi and Yamal. However, it would reflect the same principle while taking into account Abdelkarim’s age and the fact that he is still at the beginning of his senior career.

Barcelona’s caution has also been reinforced by the recent departure of Pedro Fernandez Sarmiento, known as Dro Fernandez. The attacking midfielder joined Paris Saint-Germain in January after the French club paid his €6m release clause, an outcome Barcelona regarded as a “betrayal”.

According to a previous report by Catalan newspaper Sport, Dro’s departure was particularly painful for the club. Barcelona manager Hansi Flick also expressed his disappointment at the time, saying: “If someone wants to play for Barcelona, they have to live and breathe the colours of the club with every fibre of their being.”

The proposed change to Abdelkarim’s contract shows how Neymar’s transfer continues to influence Barcelona’s decisions years later. The club may no longer be able to place a €1bn clause in every promising player’s agreement, but it is determined not to make its most talented youngsters easy targets for Europe’s wealthiest clubs.