BarcelonaAnsu Fati’s career experienced a before and after in the fall of 2020. An unfortunate injury, a rupture of the internal meniscus in his left knee, stunted the projection of a young footballer who had earned comparisons with Leo Messi They even called him the Heir. After a tense and long debate between the footballer and the doctors, the winger passed through the operating room. But what was supposed to be an outpatient intervention, with discharge the same day, turned into a four-day admission. The ordeal was beginning for a player who was 18 at the time and whose, two and a half years later, still lingers.
The future of the footballer is not at all clear. Since the injury, he has gone through all the steps to leave the club in the transfer market. His name was put on the table in 2021 when, precisely, Messi’s contract had ended and the club needed money to renew it. Also in 2022, the summer that has gone down in history as the summer of “the levers”. And this 2023 his name is back on the list. The noble offices know that money will be needed to be able to strengthen themselves and that, at the gates of exile in Montjuïc, the club will suffer a drop in extra income. For some time now, from the bowels of the Camp Nou, there has been open talk of a “painful sale”, a euphemism to say that the financial embarrassments will be covered up by making a drawer by selling an important player.
Ansu has entered all the crosshairs, but so far the sale has never materialized. Despite the economic suffocation of Barça, the sports leadership and specifically the president Joan Laporta have systematically opposed getting rid of it and have opted for other means of income. “Such a sale, no matter how much money it costs you, is very unpopular. Because it is from the youth, because it decapitalizes the club and because of the risk that he stands out and becomes the big star of a rival club,” Barça admit. But the winger’s case is special, especially because of his status as a regular substitute and because of the doubts that exist, in the medical environment, about the performance of his knee in the medium and long term.
40%
Ansu has played 1,129 minutes out of a possible 2,790 and has only started 9 of 31 games this season
In the dressing room they keep the usual speech: “We count on it”. But the message contrasts with his role in the team, where he has ceased to be the outstanding protagonist to be a luxury substitute. After two years of ordeal due to injuries, this season he is clean and has been able to participate in the 31 official matches that Barça has played. Absolutely all of them. Curiously, only 9 (29%) have been headliners. Some of them, low-profile, like the Champions against Viktoria Pilsen. Or the Cup matches against Intercity and Ceuta, where he has scored two of the six goals this season. In the global calculation, he has played 1,129 minutes, 40% of the possible 2,790.
The entrance to the scene of Jorge Mendes in the future of Ansu Fati
The data is limited, taking into account the footballer’s projection, and this has alerted his agent, Jorge Mendes, who fears a devaluation of the winger. According to the specialized portal Transfer market, Ansu was worth 80 million euros before the injury. It dropped to 50 and this year it has fallen further, to 40 million. However, and as he points out The vanguard, clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham and Bayern Munich have already moved and are interested. At the moment, Barça maintains that there is no firm proposal, but admits a certain “nervousness” around a player who, despite everything, entered Luis Enrique’s call-up to play in the World Cup in Qatar with Spanish team.
2027
Ansu renewed until 2027, with a 1 billion clause and inheriting Messi’s number 10
In October 2021, after the first summer of rumors came to an end, Barça made an impact and renewed Ansu until 2027, with a notable increase in the fee and establishing a termination clause of 1,000 million of euros He had just returned to play after his first major knee injury. In addition, the club gave him number 10, the one that had left Messi an orphan. But the renovation, much celebrated in the environment, had some internal detractors. Especially in the medical sector. And it is that some specialists warned that the meniscus injury, due to the complications, had a very high risk of leaving sequelae, especially of a muscular nature. Pessimistic forecasts that were fulfilled last season, in which Ansu was almost six months without playing: two injuries and a lack of training that led him to miss 35 games.
At the moment, Barça maintains that the aim is to cover the financial shortfalls by exploring other avenues of income, such as the possible sale of Barça TV, as explained by ARA. Out of doors, in public statements, Ansu is non-transferable. However, not everyone in the offices shares the idea. Between the economic emergencies and the entrance of Mendes, no scenario can be ruled out.
