Why Barcelona’s Move For Exciting Egyptian Striker Has Collapsed—Report

Barcelona were reportedly details away from landing Egyptian teenage prospect Hamza Abdelkarim.

Hamza Abdelkarim shined for Egypt in the 2025 U-17 World Cup. / Sayed Hassan/Getty Images

Only days ago it seemed like it was a guarantee that 18-year-old striker Hamza Abdelkarim would join Barcelona during this transfer window, but recent reports suggest the demands of Egyptian side Al Ahly SC have seen the move reach a complete standstill.

During the early days of 2026, AS had suggested that a total agreement between Barcelona and Al Ahly was reached for a loan deal that would see Abdelkarim become the first Egyptian player in Barcelona history.

Those same reports even indicated Abdelkarim could fly to Barcelona to undergo the necessary medical exams this week, but the lack of an official announcement began to raise questions.

Then, Abdelkarim made his 2026 debut for Al Ahly on Saturday, Jan. 10, coming off the bench and playing the last 20 minutes of his team’s 4–1 win in the Egyptian Cup.

His involvement in the match prompted even more questions, but everything points towards one key situation as the reason why Abdelkarim’s move to Barcelona hasn’t materialized yet.

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Al Ahly Block Abdelkarim’s Move to Barcelona

Hamza Abdelkarim is one of Egypt’s most coveted young talents. / Mohamed Farag/FIFA/Getty Images

Al Ahly will allow Abdelkarim to join Barcelona on loan this winter, but only if the player signs a contract extension with the club prior to his departure. At this point, Abdelkarim and his father, who also works as his agent, have rejected the possibility of renewing his contract with Al Ahly, resulting in the the move to Barcelona to stall completely, per SPORT.

Barcelona’s offer is a short-term deal for the rest of this campaign, with a purchase option that could be triggered in the summer. The fear from Al Ahly’s side is that Barcelona don’t trigger this option and Abdelkarim returns in six months with only a year remaining on his current deal, ending in 2027.

The idea within Barcelona was for Abdelkarim to join Barça Atlètic, and a fee of €5 million ($5.8 million) would have to be paid to Al Ahly when he plays five games for the B team.

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The purchase option is supposed to be worth €1.5 million ($1.7 million) and Al Ahly would keep 15% of a future sale, per Mundo Deportivo. Additionally, Al Ahly would reportedly receive a further €5 million if a number of performance based incentives were to be reached.

Nevertheless, despite Barcelona agreeing with both Al Ahly and Abdelkarim, the situation regarding the contract renewal in Egypt has seen the transfer nearly collapse.

More negotiations are expected in the coming days, but the current expectation is Al Ahly won’t budge on their demands, jeopardizing Barcelona’s chance of acquiring the young and exciting striker.

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