Xavi gave the Barcelona team three days off after their thrilling 4-3 win at Villarreal last Sunday.
Ansu Fati, who was on the bench for 14 minutes, decided to spend the break in his hometown of Herrera, a village about an hour’s drive from Seville in southern Spain.
He was accompanied by his family and closest friends. One of them was the personal trainer he hired to keep him injury-free and also worked with him during his free time. Above all, Fati spent most of the last three days thinking about his future.
Sunday’s game in Villarreal showed that Xavi had at least four strikers ahead of Fati in Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Ferran Torres – if not five if you include Abde Ezzalzouli. Only two can start in Barca’s four-midfielder system.
This is not a new situation for Fati. The 20-year-old has struggled with constant rumors about his position at the club since the start of the summer.
Fati’s agent Jorge Mendes considered leaving in June, to which the player replied without hesitation: “I want to be successful at Barcelona, I’m staying.”
But a lot has changed in less than three months. After a decent pre-season in which he scored two goals and caused a stir, he did not start in any of the first three games of the new La Liga season.
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Fati’s environment had long been open to a fresh start. In addition to Mendes, there are many voices in his camp – and some radical ones.
In March, Fati’s father Bori was interviewed by Spanish radio station Cadena COPE unbeknownst to the club. His words were pretty clear.
“Ansu wants to stay at Barcelona but as far as I’m concerned I have my vision very clear. I would go somewhere else,” he said.
“He’s number 10, the franchise player. I’m not happy with how the club is treating Ansu. I give him a minute, two minutes, every game comes as a substitute. That’s what really annoys me.
“If it were up to me, I would take him to our hometown of Seville and we would decide there.”
That’s exactly what happened this week.
Even Mendes stopped by at the family reunion in Herrera. The conclusion was reflected in a phone call between Fati and Xavi on Wednesday.
On the phone, Fati expressed his concerns about playing time, pointing out that he believes he needs to start more games to give his best.
Xavi, like every time he has spoken to Fati recently, could give no such guarantee. Fati decided the best option for him was to leave. He finally agrees to what his father and his agent have been advising him for months.
Fati did not start for Barca this season (David S Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Mendes began to spread that Fati was available. The structure of the offer was always a loan with no option to buy.
Two of the clubs he reached were Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs were tempted and decided to add Fati to their shortlist of wide players to potentially pursue. When Fati called Xavi on Wednesday afternoon, north London was his most likely destination. According to sources close to the player who requested anonymity to protect relationships, Fati seemed convinced of a move to Spurs.
But late on Wednesday evening, Brighton suddenly emerged as a contender.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi called Fati and offered him a comprehensive overview of his style of football and the crucial role he would play in it. The style the Italian established in his first season at Brighton also convinced Mendes to advise Fati to take up the option.
Fati, looking for a platform to escape the pressure of being Barcelona’s number 10, quickly agreed.
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to imagine a better setting to help Fati rediscover his best than De Zerbi’s project in Brighton, which is taking on almost all of Fati’s salary.
Fati is a versatile attacker who made his breakthrough as a left winger at Barcelona. Fitting him into that role would be difficult at Brighton with Kaoru Mitoma there, but Fati can play more centrally from the start.
The greatest talent he has shown since his early breakthrough at Barcelona is his ability to score goals. His outstanding instincts in front of goal, combined with his ability to read the game, make him a specialist in taking dangerous positions in a timely manner. To get the most out of his abilities, he needs to be close to the penalty area
Fati’s technique is very good, he receives the ball easily even in tight spaces and should add another dimension to Brighton’s attack. He is driven by the urge to restore his name to where it once was. In 2020, he came second in the Golden Boy Award as Europe’s best young player, sandwiched between Erling Haaland in first and Alphonso Davies in third.
Despite all the positives, there are potential pitfalls for Brighton – there have to be some for Barcelona to let him go.
Fati and Messi celebrate in February 2020 (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Fati was just 16 years and 298 days old when he made his Barca debut against Real Betis in August 2019. He caused a stir. Thirteen months later he played and scored for the Spanish senior national team. Two years after his club debut, he received the number 10 jersey from Barcelona, filling the symbolic void left by the painful departure of Lionel Messi.
But in reality, Fati’s career path changed drastically since he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in November 2020, forcing him to undergo surgery.
There are conflicting versions of what happened. Some claim the surgery didn’t go well, others believe his recovery wasn’t handled properly. There is no doubt that he suffered setbacks due to the injury and it took him practically a full year to return to the team in good condition. His initial recovery period was set at four months.
When he returned to action in November 2021, he suffered a severe hamstring tear, which again meant he was out for a long period of time.
Some experts recommended that Fati undergo surgery on his thigh muscles to heal them completely. But after the setbacks with his first knee problems, Fati was averse to further operations and tried to avoid surgery at all costs.
Fati instead underwent conservative treatment and some Barcelona sources believe he was never able to fully recover from his hamstring injury as a result. They believe he has lost some of the explosiveness that marked his breakthrough in Spanish football. These claims are firmly rejected by his camp.
“Ansu has been in the football elite for four years and from a physical point of view he is super good at the moment,” said his father Bori in March.
“He’s even faster and more explosive than before. When Fati has confidence, he becomes faster. He is as strong as a bull.”
However, when anyone saw him play in the second half of last season, it wasn’t hard to see that Fati was quite worried. Eager to score, make a difference and return to his “prodigy” status as quickly as possible. And nothing good has come of it.
Despite all these problems on and off the pitch, Fati finished the season with 10 goals and four assists in 1,824 minutes (equivalent to 20 90-minute games) in all competitions. The raw talent is still there and everyone who has been close to him over the last few years is convinced of how much he can still improve.
This is where De Zerbi, one of this year’s biggest managerial sensations, will try to help.
(Top Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images)