Barcelona's management is scheduled to meet with Hamza Abdel Karim's agent on Monday to discuss improving his contract, according to Gerard Romero, a journalist specializing in Barcelona news.
Romero clarified that Christian Emili, Hamza Abdel Karim's agent, will be at the club on Monday to negotiate the renewal of the Egyptian striker's contract.
He added that the primary objective is to raise the release clause in his contract from €15 million to €150 million.
Hours earlier, the Catalan newspaper Sport reported that Hans Flick, Barcelona's coach, deliberately kept Hamza Abdel Karim out of the season's initial matches during the summer transfer window for non-sporting reasons.
Hamza made his debut in the third round of La Liga against Rayo Vallecano, coming on as a substitute for the final five minutes.
The report explained that Flick did not want to risk Hamza's talent exploding during official matches, as happened during pre-season, fearing it would attract attention from European clubs. This decision was made in full coordination with the sporting management led by Deco.
Barcelona's management feared interest from other clubs in signing Hamza Abdel Karim, whose current contract does not reflect his status, particularly regarding the release clause valued at only €15 million. This amount is extremely low compared to the financial power of European clubs, especially English ones.
The report highlighted Hamza's golden start under Flick, noting he scored 4 out of the 10 goals Barcelona netted during their pre-season preparations for the 2026-2027 season.
It added that the Egyptian international will remain registered with Barcelona B but will continue training with the first team and may receive more playing time under Flick.
Time to review the contract
Following the closure of the transfer window and with more calm now available, the club will be able to work on improving the Egyptian striker's contract. This was already planned, but the intensity of work during the final days of the transfer window led to its postponement, according to the report.
Barcelona's management intends to raise the release clause in Hamza Abdel Karim's contract to a massive sum of €150 million, representing a 900% increase.
New evidence?
It appears the 18-year-old will continue with the first team given Hans Flick's conviction in his abilities, despite the signing of Gabriel Jesus.
Perhaps the new evidence of Flick's belief in Abdel Karim and his continued journey with the first team is his ongoing absence from the reserve squad.
Barcelona B announced their squad list for the Catalonia Cup final on Wednesday, which notably excluded Hamza Abdel Karim's name.
The match took place two days after Flick's men played against Rayo Vallecano, which meant Hamza could have participated since he had only played five minutes up to that point.
The Egyptian striker has not joined the reserve team's training sessions at all since the beginning of summer; instead, he joined the first team at the start of pre-season, participated in all its matches, and has been with the first team for the first three La Liga games.
Abdel Karim sat on the Barcelona first team bench for the first two matches of the new season without playing, before making his debut minutes against Vallecano, following a strong pre-season in which he scored four goals.
Speaking to 3Cat after the Rayo Vallecano match, Hamza Abdel Karim said: "It's a very exciting feeling to play an official match at Camp Nou, and I want to experience this feeling many times."
He added, "I was very excited to play the match in front of such a large crowd. It's an incredible feeling, and I want to experience it again and again."
The former Al-Ahly striker continued, "I hope to help the team as much as possible and for us to win everything."
He continued, "Raphinha is a wonderful player. He has innate talent. He is a great person, and we all know he always gives 100% effort wherever he plays."
Hamza added, "Lamine Yamal is a magical player. He has two amazing feet, which makes him extremely enjoyable to watch."
He went on to say, "Lamine plays for the team and helps us all do what we want to achieve."
He concluded, "Being at the top of the league table is where we should be, and we must maintain that position."
Barcelona currently tops the La Liga standings with a perfect record, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference.
