Barcelona ties down Hamza Abdelkarim through 2030 with buyout clause near $115 million

Just eight months ago, he was a virtual unknown to most Barcelona fans. Today he's signed through 2030 with a release clause close to 100 million euros (115 million dollars). Hamza Abdelkarim's story at Barcelona is moving at a pace even the club didn't see coming.

The Egyptian forward, just 18 years old, signed his contract extension with the Catalan club on Tuesday after a summer in which he earned the nickname "the Haaland of the Nile." The reason: four goals in preseason and a string of performances that drew comparisons to Manchester City's Norwegian striker. The new deal includes the extension through 2030, a salary bump, and that steep release clause designed mainly to discourage any club that might come knocking for him.

The strange part is that Abdelkarim wasn't even brought in with the first team in mind. He arrived in Barcelona in January from Egypt's Al Ahly for an initial fee of just 1.5 million euros (1.7 million dollars), with the plan of assigning him to the reserve squad. He ended up playing for the U-19 team last season, and it wasn't until June, when the club exercised the permanent buy option, that he signed his first contract, running through 2029.

That role came fast. In May he made his debut for Egypt's senior national team and played in four of the five matches the "Pharaohs" played at the World Cup, a tournament that ended for them in the round of 16 against Argentina. He returned to Barcelona after a short break, joined preseason training under Hansi Flick, and made the most of it: four goals in five friendlies were enough to get the club to move quickly and improve his contract before other suitors could take notice.

He made his LaLiga debut in August against Rayo Vallecano and has been included in the squad for all six matches the team has played so far this season. For now he's the third option up front, behind Raphinha and Gabriel Jesus, though Flick has made clear he can also rotate in Dani Olmo, Anthony Gordon, Fermín López or Karim Adeyemi at that spot.

Abdelkarim himself explained at a press conference after signing where the comparison that now follows him everywhere comes from:

When someone asks me which players I admire and learn from, I think of Haaland; he's an incredible forward. He has so many strengths. Every time I watch him play, I find something I can learn from him and something I can apply to improve my own game. We all know how good he is at scoring goals. He's always in the right spot. That's something you can learn. I understand why they call me "the Haaland of the Nile."Hamza Abdelkarim

For now, Barcelona has made sure to keep him locked in for several more years. What comes next will depend on whether the goals keep coming as easily as they did this preseason.