Negotiations underway
FC Barcelona has opened talks with Hamza Abdelkarim and his camp to prepare a new agreement. The 18-year-old Egyptian striker, born 1 January 2008, is under contract until 30 June 2029 and has a €15 million release clause. The sporting director wants to remove or raise that clause before the player continues to gain prominence.
Performance and background
Abdelkarim arrived on loan from Al Ahly during the winter market. In the final stretch of the last season, he played 11 matches with Juvenil A and scored six goals, including three in the 9-0 win over Montecarlo that secured the División de Honor title. In the first-team pre-season, he netted four goals: a brace against Birmingham and goals against Basel and Al Ahly. He was also called up by Egypt for the 2026 World Cup at only 18 years old.
Club’s objective
Deco’s priority is to protect an asset that the club permanently signed just weeks ago. A €15 million release clause offers a narrow margin if the striker continues to progress and starts to feature in higher categories. The next step will be to align positions with the player’s camp to improve his contract and remove or significantly raise the current clause before Hamza Abdelkarim continues to accumulate prominence at FC Barcelona and potentially moves into the first team in LaLiga.
Next steps
The club paid €1.5 million plus variables to exercise the purchase option from Al Ahly. It is now focused on negotiating the terms of the new contract and the removal of the €15 million release clause.
