Barcelona have completed the signing of Egypt international Hamza Abdelkarim from Al Ahly for an initial fee of €1.5 million ($1.7m), the two clubs have confirmed.
Abdelkarim, 18, initially joined Barça on loan in January but the club have decided to make the move permanent after a string of impressive performances for the youth teams.
The teenager’s displays in Spain have also catapulted him into the Egypt squad for the World Cup in North America, where he will wear the No. 9 shirt as part of an attack that also includes Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush.
He made his international debut in Egypt’s 1-0 win over Russia on May 28 and came off the bench last weekend as The Pharaohs lost 2-1 to Brazil in Cleveland.
Read more:London City Lionesses leading race to sign Alexia Putellas after Barcelona exit – sources
Egypt kick off their World Cup campaign on Monday against Belgium in Group G before facing New Zealand and Iran.
Abdelkarim joined Al Ahly in 2020 and became the youngest player to represent the club in the 21st century when he came off the bench in February 2025 against Petrojet.
He subsequently made nine appearances in all competitions for the Egyptian side before joining Barça earlier this year.
Read more:Mohamed Salah: ‘Cried more than in whole life’ in final Liverpool appearance after nine seasons
Initially signing for Barça Atletic, who compete in fourth tier of Spanish football, bureaucratic issues prevented him from featuring for the Catalan club’s reserve side and he eventually debuted for the under-19 team in March.
He scored on his debut against Huesca and netted a hat trick against UD Montecarlo but also suffered two final defeats in a Barça shirt, against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey Juvenil and Real Madrid in the Copa de Campeones.
