Transfer Centre

Ansu Fati agent in talks over Barcelona exit?

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 08 February 2023

The agent of Barcelona winger Ansu Fati is reportedly enquiring around Europe as to whether there is any significant interest in the Spain international.

Agent Jorge Mendes is reportedly attempting to gauge whether there is a level of interest in Barcelona winger Ansu Fati.

When bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old back in 2019, Fati was regarded as one of the top prospects in European football and a potential heir to the throne of Lionel Messi.

While both remain the case to a certain degree, the attacker is no longer viewed as a certain starter at Camp Nou, not helped by a number of injuries.

The 20-year-old has only made nine starts in La Liga and the Champions League during 2022-23, a further 17 outings coming from the substitutes' bench.

Xavi has recently talked up the qualities of the Spain international, indicating that he sees him as a long-term option in his squad.

Barcelona manager Xavi pictured in September 2022 © Reuters

Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Xavi said: "Things will work out for him, we have to be patient, he is a spectacular asset for the club, we trust him a lot, he is working very well, he has a tremendous mentality in training, but we need to be patient.

"He is 20 years old and needs time, like everyone else. This is not the time to talk about sales."

However, according to Sport, Mendes wants to establish whether any clubs plan to make a formal approach for his services in the summer.

Fati possesses a contract which runs until the end of 2026-27 and a release clause which no club would look to activate due to its size and requirements to meet FFP.

Ansu Fati celebrates scoring for Barcelona on September 10, 2022 © Reuters

Nevertheless, Barcelona are continuing to have to deal with financial issues and any sale of an academy graduate such as Fati would go down as 'pure profit' in their books.

The report claims, though, that the Catalan giants would only give consideration to a sale if an offer was made in the region of £90m.

Manchester United have recently been linked with a bid for Fati, although they would almost certainly face rival interest if it became apparent that they were looking to sign the youngster.

In total, Fati has contributed 25 goals and nine assists from 89 outings in all competitions for Barcelona, but he is yet to play more than 24 times in a La Liga campaign.