Out of favour, Yerry Mina has said he would reject all offers and stay at Barcelona.
The Colombian defender has admitted to have received offers from other clubs but says he would stay with the Catalans and win over manager Ernesto Valverde. Everton has been in touch with Mina who has been a surplus to requirement at Barcelona. He made just five La Liga appearances last season and only two of those ended in Barca victories, while his performance in the shock 5-4 defeat to Levante drew plenty of criticism.
Mina is determined to prove his doubters wrong but says he will make a decision on his future after his post-World Cup break.
“I have offers but I want to succeed at Barca. Right now, I’m enjoying my holidays and, when the time comes, I’ll decide with my family what’s best for everyone,” he said.
The 23-year-old joined Barca from Palmeiras for €11.8million in January, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract that includes a €100m release clause.
He scored three goals in three appearances at the World Cup for Colombia, who were knocked out on penalties by England at the last-16 stage.
In 2016, Mina was named to Colombia’s Copa América Centenario squad, starting one game against Costa Rica. He played in five of Colombia’s 2018 World Cup Qualifying matches from October 2016 to March 2017, and in May 2018 he was named in Colombia’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
At the 2018 World Cup, Mina scored three goals for Colombia, all coming from headers off corner kicks. Mina did not play in Colombia’s opening 2–1 loss with Japan but started at centre back in each of Colombia’s remaining matches. In the group stage, he scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win over Poland, then scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Senegal which propelled Colombia to the top of their group and into the knockout stage.
Against England in the round of sixteen, Mina tied the scoring 1–1 in the 93rd minute to send the game into extra time. Colombia went on to lose the game on penalty kicks, ending their tournament. With his three goals, he tied the record number of goals scored by a defender in a single World Cup tournament, sharing the record with Germans Paul Breitner in 1974 and Andreas Brehme in 1990.
On 1 May 2016, Mina was confirmed as the new player of Palmeiras, but only joined the club in the following month. He signed a five-year contract with the club eleven days later.
Mina made his debut for the club on 4 July 2016, playing a full game in a 3–1 away defeat of Sport Recife. His first goal for the Verdão arrived in the following fixture, a 1–1 draw against Santos. He was however substituted off just before the end of the first half due to an apparent injury which had left the defender in tears as he exited the field on a stretcher. On 13 July it was confirmed that Mina would not recover in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the expectancy of the injury estimated to be 6–8 weeks.
Mina fully recovered from injury in late August 2016, being an undisputed starter during the latter stages of the season. In September, he scored goals against rivals São Paulo and Corinthians, and finished the year with four league goals as his team lifted the trophy after a 22-year absence.
On 11 January 2018, FC Barcelona and Palmeiras reached an agreement for the transfer of Yerry Mina for the remainder of the season and five more until 30 June 2023. This made him the first ever Colombian to play for the club. The cost of the transfer was €11.8 million and his release clause was set at €100 million.
Mina made his debut replacing Gerard Piqué in the 83rd minute of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia. Barcelona would go on to win the match 0–2 and advance to the final. He would make his home and league debut against Getafe, starting and playing the full game to a 0–0 draw. He made his first official contribution at the club as he assisted Ousmane Dembélé in a 5–1 defeat of Villarreal