Barcelona forward Ansu Fati keeps breaking records, and it doesn’t look like the youngster is going to slow down. OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA here looks at the career of the 17-year-old who recently became the youngest player to score a brace in La Liga history, Spain’s youngest ever goal-scorer and future replacement for Barcelona’s ageing legend Lionel Messi.
Only 17, Ansu Fati already has the eyes of the world on him.
Fati became the youngest player to score for Spain during his country’s 4-0 win over Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League last month.
Aged just 17 years and 311 days, the Barcelona forward broke the 95-year record that was set by Juan Errazquin-who scored his first international goal aged 18 years and 344 days.
Fati made history by firing in his team’s third goal of the game, topping off a sensational display from the youngster which started with winning a penalty in the opening minutes.
This feat followed his achievements of being the youngest Barcelona player to ever score in La Liga and the youngest-ever in the Champions League.
Ansu Fati has made a long trip from the fields of Guinea-Bissau, where he played as a child, to Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium where the 16-year-old is playing with some of the biggest stars in the world.
He was just seven years old when he first came to Spain and his startling talent meant he was invited to join Barcelona’s prestigious youth academy ‘La Masia’ aged 10.
“From the day that he arrived he was different, the type of player who invents football,” said Marc Serra, his first coach in Barcelona.
It was an incredible achievement for a boy from the impoverished West African nation that has never been known for football.
Questions will now be asked as to whether the youngster can step into the shoes of legend Lionel Messi at club level.
Messi’s future at Barcelona is far from certain and it could soon fall to the teenager to fill his shoes.
Messi wanted to leave on a free transfer but that was rejected and he eventually conceded defeat. He remains a Barca player for now but his discontent is well publicised.
The Argentine superstar, 33, is not happy and the Catalan club could be forced to look more towards the future and that means Fati.
After all, it was Fati who scored just six minutes into his LaLiga debut, two minutes into his home LaLiga debut and then recorded his first ever assist just five minutes later.
Despite this, Fati will have the chance to establish himself next season with the club looking to revamp the first team and focus on the future.
The Catalans see the sprightly young footballer with a bagful of tricks, devastating burst of pace and an ability to change direction at will, as Lionel Messi’s heir apparent.
“Ansu Fati got my attention from the first time I saw him training, but you have to go step-by-step because he is 16 years old,” Lionel Messi said.
“He still doesn’t have the responsibility that others want to put on his shoulders. He has the potential to be a very important player but we have to help him.”
“Even though I know him [Fati] well and what he’s capable of, I can’t say I’m not surprised,” Spain manager Luis Enrique told reporters after the Ukraine win.
“He showed such bravery and daring to do what he did in the second minute, beating a player so naturally. I can’t remember him doing anything like this before.”
“Ansu Fati needs patience, tranquillity and a calm climate that we will try to give him. To keep playing for the national team you need to keep running in defense. We would do him a disservice if we wanted him to solve each game for us. He’s still a teenager.”
Fati’s story is similar to that of Messi. Like the Argentine, he too migrated from his homeland, Guinea Bissau, along with his father. Back home, he had limited means but it never stopped him from leaving a mark with the ball at his feet.
He moved to Seville at the age of six when his older brother, Braima, signed for Sevilla at the age of 14.
“In Guinea he was used to playing with balls made of rags, but when he got a real ball for the first time it was incredible to see him, “ Perez Mena, Ansu Fati’s first coach in Seville
“I have been in the football game for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like him. He’s got huge personality; he doesn’t fear anyone and you only need to see him on the pitch to see that.”
Fati’s incredible rise saw the club rush to give him a contract extension in December with a €170million release clause inserted, which would rise to €400m when he officially signed a professional deal.
According to Spanish publication Marca, Bartomeu is set to reward Fati with a new contract ‘imminently’ which will see the youngster get a new shirt number, a significant raise in his salary and a £360m release clause inserted.
The Portugal connections
Luis Jose Pinguinha is an encyclopaedia of Portuguese youth football, and he has seen thousands of players pass by his country en route to the top level.
“His father was from Guinea Bissau, the first Portuguese colony to achieve independence and his father was working in Portugal before going to Spain, he wanted to bring his family to Portugal before Spain,” he confirmed.
The name of a young Fati reached the Portuguese Football Federation, and they called his family to try and persuade him to represent Portugal, but they were too late. However, in 2019 everything could have changed when Sporting saw that the promising talent hadn’t yet re-signed with Barcelona.
The Lisbon club were quoted figures that were considered exorbitant for an academy player and ultimately a deal never occurred.
“Sporting wanted him to start in the academy and gradually progress,” Pinguinha declared.
“However, his people wanted him to have a direct contract with the senior team and I think that’s why an agreement wasn’t reached.”
La Masia Woes
Barcelona are hoping Fati’s rise through the ranks plugs more holes than one. La Masia, the club’s famed youth academy that has produced some world-class talent has struggled to live up to its reputation in the last few years. Barcelona haven’t seen enough talent come through the academy and become an integral part of the first team as in the past decade. In Fati, they would hope to have a player that could reignite its youth set-up.
One interesting fact about Fati is that the 16-year-old turned down Real Madrid in order to join Barcelona. His parents visited the academies of both teams but ultimately decided that Barca would be the best place for their son.
The player’s father, Bori, later revealed in an interview with reporters that they chose Barca over Real Madrid because the Blaugrana had a residence for the kids they signed.
In 2010, three La Masia graduates – Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta – were the top three players in the list of FIFA’s players of the year award. It’s an achievement no academy in the world can match.
However, in the age of super clubs where the top teams in the world pride themselves in luring the best talent, Barcelona have seemingly lost touch of just how important their academy has been to the club.
While Barcelona haven’t completely counted on local talent as the likes of Athletic Bilbao, and have recruited top players from across the globe, the players from the academy have always formed an integral part of the team.
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