Top facts you need to know about the Barcelona phenom, Ansu Fati
With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez all sidelined through injury, Barcelona had to hand a debut to 16-year-old academy starlet Ansu Fati in their 5-2 win over Real Betis, in which he ended up to be the most lethal attacker for the Blaugranas.
Ansu, Anssumane Fati, was born in the small West African nation of Guinea-Bissau in October 2002 and moved to Spain, where his father Bori had settled.
Four years before Ansu Fati was born, a civil war broke out in his home country, followed by a military coup in 2003, a year after he was born. The coup left his country in ruins and also intensified widespread poverty. Ansu Fati's parents were worried about their children's future and this resulted in Bori, his dad leaving Guinea-Bissau in search of a better future abroad.
Bori first migrated to Portugal, where he had a failed endeavor to begin a football career in the lower leagues. While in Portugal, Bori heard a rumor that a Marinaleda, a Municipality in Spain was offering work to immigrants. Ansu's dad immediately left Portugal for Spain to get the position.
Luck ran out of him in Spain as Bori began begging for food on the streets of Marinaleda. It took just a few months before an opportunity came as Bori Fati met the mayor Marinaleda in Seville who offered him a job as his driver.
Fati grew up in the small town of Herrera, 120 kilometers away from Seville and he started his career with Sevilla.
It did not take long for Spain's big clubs to start circling, with Real Madrid and Barca taking interest in the nine-year-old.
"Real Madrid offered better money than Barca," his father said. "But they were the ones who came to my house with the contract and convinced me. When Sevilla found out they were angry and they didn't play him for a year."
"He came over here aged six or seven, I'd come over before and didn't know that he played football," Bori told reporters.
"Everyone told me I had no idea how good my son was, he ran rings around everyone."
Fati signed his first professional contract with Barcelona on 24 July 2019, agreeing to a deal until 2022. He recently signed a deal that will keep him there until 2022 which contains a €100 million release clause.
He was called up by coach Ernesto Valverde following injuries to Messi, Luis Suarez, and Ousmane Dembele after impressing for the Under-19 team in pre-season despite being three years younger than most of his teammates.
On 25 August 2019, he became the youngest player for the Barça first team in the league at the age of 16 years and 298 days. The striker, wearing number 31, came on in the 78th minutes of the game against Betis to replace Carles Pérez in week 2 of the 2019/20 league season.
It is not just Ansu who is a talented footballer, with both his brothers also on Barca's books. Brahima, 21, is on loan at Calahorra from the Camp Nou while his younger brother plays in the same La Masia youth team as Thiago Messi, Lionel’s son.
On 31 August 2019, in a game against Osasuna in El Sadar, Ansu Fati became the youngest player ever to score in the league for Barça. The striker scored with a well-placed header from Carles Pérez in the 2-2 draw in Pamplona.
On 14 September 2019 against Valencia at home, Fati became the youngest ever player to start a game at Camp Nou. Seven minutes into the game he had become the youngest player ever to score and provide an assist in the same league game whilst at the same time becoming the young player ever to score at Camp Nou.
Fati missed out on becoming the club's youngster player in a league fixture by 20 days. Vicente Martinez played aged 16 years 278 days in the 1940s.
According to the club, Barca's youngest debutant was Albert Almasque, who played for the first team in the Macaya Cup in 1902 aged 13 years, 11 months, and six days.
The followings are the top facts you need to know about the Barcelona starlet:
Barcelona needed the parents’ permission to play Ansu
Being handed his first-team debut will undoubtedly be one of Fati's favorite moments in his career, but Barcelona actually had to ask for permission from his parents to play him. That's how young he is.
La Liga regulations state that young players are not allowed to play in late-night matches without specific authorization from the parents, so Barcelona had to reach out to Fati's family to get permission. Understandably, they didn't hesitate to say yes!
Fati played for Sevilla before joining Barcelona
Born in Guinea Bissau, Ansu spent six years in the African country before moving to Spain. In 2009, he joined the youth set-up of the local side CDF Herrera before moving to Sevilla after a year.
After two years at the Andalusian club, Fati joined Barcelona on the advice of his parents. Although Sevilla wanted to keep him, the Catalan giants eventually secured the teenager’s signature.
Sevilla's sporting director, Monchi, tried to offer more money than Barca in a bid to keep the talented youngster, but the player had his mindset on joining the Blaugrana.
Fati suffered a double leg break at age 13
The top fact about the Guinea-Bissau-born attacker is that he has suffered a double leg break at age 13. It looks like Fati has already been through a lot in his young career, and one of the worst moments was undoubtedly his horrific double leg break.
Fati may have achieved a life-long dream by making his first-team debut at the Camp Nou; however, the youngster has had his fair share of disappointments as well. As young as age 13, he suffered a very serious leg injury.
Fati was ruled out for almost a year after suffering a double leg break during a youth match against Espanyol.
However, the young forward kept his head up and returned strongly after his early injury woes. A year after the horrific injury, Fati was thrust into Barca’s Juvenil A side, where he was converted from a central forward to a left-winger.
Back in December 2015, a tough tackle from an Espanyol defender left Fati with a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg, forcing him into a ten-month period on the sidelines. That injury came just after he had finally been allowed to join the club after their transfer ban was lifted, so a young Fati spent plenty of time without competitive football.
Fortunately, this was probably the turning point in his career. His passion and determination only grew, and he came back with a point to prove. He dominated youth football and continues to do so to date.
Fati turned down Real Madrid for Barcelona
The most 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.
Teenage star is the heir to Lionel Messi’s throne
Fati came in the shape of a slight and skinny 17-year-old kid from the West African country of Bissau-Guinea. He exploded onto the scene at one of the world's most famous clubs, netting twice against Levante in a 2-1 win, making him the youngest player to net twice in a La Liga game.
As the heir to Messi's throne, Fati became Barcelona's youngest ever goalscorer when he jumped off the bench to net against Osasuna in La Liga at the end of August.
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 an £88.6m release clause in Fati's contract to protect their new asset.
Fati’s net worth
The Barcelona phenom’s net worth is more than $4 million, including his salary from FC Barcelona. As a young football player, he has many opportunities to grow up more professionally in the presence of some of the greatest football players in the club.
There is no doubt that the 17-year-old player has endured a meteoric rise to prominence as one of the best under 21 football players of 2019, becoming a priceless property of the club!
Recently Ansu Fati has extended his contract with FC Barcelona until 2022, with a new release clause of €170M.
Ansu Fati had a difficult time with his shoes during his debut game with Barcelona senior team but after that Nike has made Ansu Fati a brand ambassador of their new product which is Nike Mercurial Superfly VII Elite and similar series of the boot has also been promoted by several superstars of football world like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, and Vinicius Jr.
One of our most talented La Masia gems turns 17. The amount which is received by Fati by being Nike Ambassador is not revealed yet but it has been reported that it has made a contract of more than $1 million per year.
