Paris Saint-Germain's interest in Lamine Yamal is no longer a fleeting rumour. Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed previous attempts by the French club to prise away the Catalan side's jewel, going as far as an offer worth 250 million euros. But the Spanish star is tied to a long-term deal at Camp Nou. So can the European champions turn the dream of signing one of world football's most prominent talents into reality, or will the path to snatching the number 10 stay firmly shut?
"When Paris Saint-Germain offered us 250 million euros to sign Lamine Yamal, we rejected the offer, and he was only 17 years old." With those words, Laporta laid bare on more than one occasion the Parisian club's attempts to tempt Barcelona into giving up their exceptional talent.
PSG's interest in the young star clearly goes well beyond speculation. Yamal is one of the most anticipated names in the upcoming clash between the two sides in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Laporta may exude confidence about the player's future, but some voices within Barcelona still eye the French club's ambitions with caution. PSG possess the financial and sporting resources to make them a dangerous competitor for any star on the planet.
Speaking to French newspaper "L'Equipe", Laporta said: "We have confidence in our abilities. Barcelona pays generous salaries to its players, and this is what the club has always been accustomed to. The matter relates to feeling comfortable within the club. Outside Barcelona, the atmosphere may be very cold, whereas here we feel at ease."
He added, in statements carried by French website "Foot Mercato": "Barcelona is a well-organised, multi-sport club, with an outstanding administrative structure, and the players appreciate that. Of course, we are not perfect, but everything is open to improvement, and we are working hard."
Barcelona fortified by a long-term contract
Barcelona hold a strong card to protect their young star. Yamal is tied to a contract running until 2031, complete with a release clause worth one billion euros, which makes prising him away from the Catalans extremely complicated.
PSG do not appear able to repeat the Neymar scenario of 2017, when they paid the 222 million euro release clause. Nor are there any signs they could replay the Lionel Messi saga, with the Argentine moving to the French club after his contract renewal at Barcelona stalled.
Equally, it is still too early to imagine a situation like those involving Ousmane Dembélé or Ferran Torres, when the Catalan club were forced into selling a player before his final contract year to avoid losing him for free. On that basis, Barcelona look relatively comfortable keeping Yamal for years to come, barring exceptional developments that overturn the equation.
Their strength here is not limited to contracts and finance. It extends to the close relationship binding club and player. Unlike some of the names who left in past years, Yamal is a son of the La Masia academy, raised in Barcelona's environment, and he still plays alongside a number of his closest friends at the club and in the city he has been connected to since childhood.
That emotional and sporting bond gives him extra motivation to stay in the Catalan side's shirt, driven by his ambition to write his name among the club's legends and follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi.
Yet the Messi experience itself does not necessarily offer a model that can be repeated with Yamal. The Argentine moved to PSG late in his career, after Barcelona hit difficulties that prevented the registration of his new contract. Those circumstances differ greatly from the current situation of the Spanish talent.
Here lies Paris Saint-Germain's opportunity
Barcelona may hold a clear advantage in the Yamal matter, but PSG can lean on a set of cards that might give them a chance to crack open negotiations in the future.
The Catalan club's finances have improved relatively, with revenues expected to climb once renovation works at Camp Nou are complete. Even so, the Parisian club still enjoy significant resources that give them a wider margin to manoeuvre in the market.
Yamal may be the last name Barcelona would consider selling in a new financial crisis. But PSG can table a huge offer, along with a salary the Spanish club might struggle to match, placing the player before temptations difficult to ignore.
This scenario remains hypothetical. Still, it illustrates the gulf in financial resources between the two clubs, and Paris's ability to exploit any change in Barcelona's stance or the player's wishes, according to "Foot Mercato".
Plenty of Barcelona fans also appear worried about the influence of those around Yamal, chief among them his father, on his future decisions. That does not necessarily mean there is any desire on the player's part to leave.
The Champions League and the Ballon d'Or: temptations that cannot be ignored
PSG's tools do not stop at money. They also include sporting ambition, with the French club able to offer a strong competitive project and a relentless hunger to compete for the Champions League title.
Barcelona are still chasing a return to the European throne they last claimed in 2015. PSG, meanwhile, currently hold a strong continental standing, according to the report.
That gap could prove an extra pull for Yamal, who aspires to gather the biggest collective and individual honours, chief among them the Ballon d'Or, and perhaps to lift it more than once in his career.
PSG may have changed their approach in the market, moving away from stockpiling stars, but signing a player of Yamal's calibre would be a strategic exception. It would be a deal with enormous sporting, media and commercial dimensions.
On the pitch, the Spanish star's style looks suited to the philosophy adopted by the French team, thanks to his ability to make the difference going forward, alongside his willingness to muck in defensively and work for the collective.
Moving from talk of PSG's interest to seeing Yamal in their shirt still demands clearing major obstacles. Foremost among them: Barcelona's attachment to their star, the long-term contract that protects him, and the player's own willingness to walk away from the club where he grew up.
Caught between financial temptation and European ambition on one side, and belonging and stability on the other, Yamal's move to PSG remains open in theory. It does not look close at present.
Before busying themselves with images of the Spanish star playing dozens of matches in PSG colours at the Parc des Princes, the French team must first deal with his threat on the pitch, when they face Barcelona in the Champions League.