LIONEL who?
The name on Barcelona’s die-hard fans isn’t their mercurial son Messi anymore.
Bissau-Guinean Fati has exploded onto the scene at the Camp NouCredit: Corbis – Getty
They have a new one, and he comes in the shape of a slight and skinny 17-year-old kid from the West African country of Bissau-Guinea.
Ansu Fati has exploded onto the scene at one of the world’s most famous clubs, netting twice on Sunday against Levante in a 2-1 win – making him the youngest player to net twice in a La Liga game.
The heir to Messi’s throne, he also became Barcelona’s youngest ever goalscorer when he jumped off the bench to net against Osasuna in La Liga at the end of August.
Then, back in September he made history again as Barcelona’s youngest debutant in a Champions League tie.
It’s no wonder the Spanish champions have a £88.6m release clause in Fati’s contract to protect their new asset.
A FOOTBALLERS’ SON
Ansu’s dad Bori Fati had his own footballing aspirations.
In his native country of Bissau-Guinea he played professionally, before the family emigrated to Portugal.
Fati is seen as the heir to Messi’s throne
Father Bori Fati was a footballer himself, before moving his family from Africa to Portugal then Spain
There Bori set up some amateur teams in the lower leagues until he read a story of an Andalusian town called Marinaleda, near Seville, that was offering work to immigrants.
He moved in 2001, but found life tough – begging for food on the streets until a chance encounter with the mayor scored him a job as a limo driver.
The family settled in Herrera, a nearby town, where Ansu would later train as a kid with CDF Herrera and Sevilla FC.
BORN TO PLAY
Unknown to his dad, Ansu was a natural-born talent.
“I didn’t know he was any good at football,” Bori recently told Spanish radio station La Cope.
“Ansu would ask me everyday, ‘Papa, take me to play football’.
‘In the end, I got tired of him asking me and I took him along and left him at the municipal pitches. I said, ‘When you get tired, come home’.
“I had to go to work but that night I got home and there were people crowded at my front door and they said to me, ‘Fati, do you know what you have got here?’ I said, ‘no’. I had no idea.
‘They said, ‘Tomorrow bring Ansu to the football pitches and you will see him play’.
Fati had a natural talent with the ball, which surprised his dadCredit: Getty – Contributor
“When I went the next day I saw him dribbling past all the others it was him against everyone else.”
A JEWEL AT SEVILLA
By the age of 8, Ansu was already training with La Liga giants Sevilla, while playing with his local club Escuela Peloteros de Herrera – who he led to the Under-8 title.
But it was impossible for Sevilla to keep a boy with such talent out of the clutches of Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Before long, heads of both academies were making regular trips to Ansu’s home, and it was Los Blancos who made the first move by offering the family a mansion in Madrid, as well as a cash incentive to sign on the dotted line.
However, because their Valdebebas training ground had no on-site residencies for young boys, the Fati family weren’t convinced it was the right move for their son.
Fati moved to La Masia at the age of 10 and progressed through the youth teams
ALBERT PUIG CHANGED IT ALL
Puig, who is currently assistant coach at New York City FC, was formerly Barça’s youth football coordinator.
Like Real Madrid’s Academy director Paco de Gracia, he would often visit the Fati family to talk football and ask asbout Ansu’s progress.
And he was able to offer them exactly what they wanted.
“He [Puig] came to my house and sat in my front room and we said that we would think about it and talk about a contract the next day, but he said, ‘No we have the contract here now’,” Bori told Cope.
Sevilla were understandably furious, and their Sporting Director Monchi tried to offer the family a counter-deal but it was too late.
Furious with his decision, Sevilla stopped playing Fati in games, which ironically forced him to play for a club ran by a Sevilla-based Real Madrid fan club called Sextacampeones de Herrera.
Despite being offered a house by Real Madrid, Fati knew his future belonged at Barcelona
A BARCELONA SENSATION
Since the age of 10, Ansu has been talked about as one of the greatest prodigies club coaches have ever seen.
At youth level, he formed a lethal partnership with Take Kubo, who has since signed for Real Madrid, once scoring 56 goals in one season.
And last year in the UEFA Youth League he scored four goals and contributed three assists in the nine games he played, including two goals against Chelsea.
It was no wonder Ansu was excused reserve football, and fast-tracked into former manager Ernesto Valverde’s first team.
Ansu was fast-tracked into the Barcelona first team without playing a reserve game
Ansu celebrates scoring his first ever goal against OsasunaCredit: Getty – Contributor
AN INTERNATIONAL NEXT
Fresh from making history as Barcelona’s youngest ever Champions League performer against Borussia Dortmund, Ansu has targeted the Spanish national team.
In October he was given clearance by Fifa to represent the country he has made his name in, despite also being eligible for Portugal.
Ansu had been pencilled in to play for Spain at the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, which took place between October 26 and November 17, but Barca refused to sanction his release because it clashed with El Clasico.
However, he was called up to the Under-21 squad on 11 October 2019, following an injury to fellow Barcelona starlet, Carles Pérez.
He made his debut four days later against Montenegro, and surely it won’t be long before his exploits get him a call to Spain’s first team soon.
Fati became Barcelona’s youngest ever Champions League player when he played against Borussia Dortmund on TuesdayCredit: Getty – Contributor
Next, Fati hopes to represent Spain at international levelCredit: AFP
Barcelona’s wonderkid Ansu Fati shows off his footwork as he trains on the beach
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
