Alongside the likes of PSG’s Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Barcelona’ Ansu Fati is widely regarded as one of the most promising young players in the world. With injuries sidelining his explosive arrival to the scene as a teenager, the 19-year-old has pledged lifelong allegiance to Barcelona.
The teenage sensation, who broke through to the first team under Ernesto Valverde back in 2019, and broke a plethora of records with his stirring skills and eye for goal. The Spaniard became the youngest player to score and assist in the same La Liga match, the youngest goalscorer in Barcelona as well as the Spanish national team’s history and also being the youngest scorer in the UEFA Champions League, accomplishing all the feats when he was 16 and 17.
However, a horrendous tackle by Real Betis’ Aissa Mandi in November 2020 derailed all of that and left Fati on the sidelines for months. He has spent most of the time since then, recuperating from the injuries and suffering relapses and has also undergone surgeries on multiple occasions.
Despite the sensitive nature of the issue, Barcelona have put all of their trust and faith in Fati. They tied him down to a lengthy contract with a billion-euro buyout clause until 2027 in autumn last year and also handed him the iconic number 10 shirt following Lionel Messi’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021.
Fati, on his part, has revealed that he plans to be at the Camp Nou for the duration of his football career. He claims that lucrative offers from clubs like PSG and Manchester City don’t tempt him the slightest as his focus is on solely achieving success with Barcelona.
“I didn’t even know about the offers that came for me. From the first moment I told my agent [Jorge Mendes] and my parents that I just wanted to stay in Barcelona. I want to play for Barca all my life. It’s clear in my head, I hope I can spend my entire career here,”
he told Canal+.
Fati also just ended another seriously injury-ridden season. He tried making a comeback in January and also appeared in the El Clasico against Real Madrid during the Super Cup. However, suffered yet another relapse and had to wait until May to start getting game time again.
