Lamine Yamal no longer signs shirts at the Ciutat Esportiva.
The striker from Rocafonda is the new golden boy of world sport, and that's why he's receiving all kinds of offers. One of them is from a website specializing in selling sports stars' apparel and merchandise with autographs. The player intends to accept it, and that's why he's been told by the people who manage his advertising contracts to stop signing autographs. He does take photos with fans, for example, but he doesn't sign autographs, club sources explain, as FC Barcelona itself also requires signatures from its players for various commitments.
But Lamine explained it naturally, and the club understood. In fact, club sources told Mundo Deportivo that negotiations are underway to obtain access to a certain number of Lamine's autographs in order to fulfill the aforementioned commitments. The agency that handles Lamine's advertising—and there are quite a few—is negotiating with a company that would market his signed items (boots, jerseys, and general merchandising). In this context, the fewer items signed by him circulating, the more valuable his signature will be. Hence the instruction given to the youth player not to sign any more autographs. Anyone who wants to have items signed by him must do so through this website that sells sports star merchandise.
The agreement hasn't been signed yet, but both parties intend to close it. This marketing of stars' autographs is quite common in the American market, especially with NBA stars. One example cited by the club is that of LeBron James. At FC Barcelona, they've accepted this with a certain naturalness because they know the Lamine phenomenon and are proud that he's a Barça fan and that he recently renewed his contract, a sign of his commitment to the Barcelona club, which he joined at just 12 years old.