Barcelona President Joan Laporta has indicated that the club will not sell academy graduate Ansu Fati this summer, following speculation over the 20-year-old’s future.
The forward struggled last season after returning from a long injury layoff, and with Barcelona urgently needing to generate funds to help solve their financial problems, there was talk that Fati could be sacrificed.
The Spain international was regarded as one of the best talents to come out of La Masia when he broke through as a teenager, and was even handed Lionel Messi’s number 10 shirt following the departure of the Argentine superstar.
Fati started just 12 La Liga games last season, and struggled to fully display his outstanding talent going forward, scoring 10 goals across 51 matches in all competitions.
With Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha all ahead of Fati in the pecking order across the front three, a move may have been appealing for the youngster in order to gain regular minutes.
However, Laporta confirmed that Fati would be staying at the club, reiterating that Barcelona do not need to sell their brightest talents, despite the current financial situation.
“Ansu Fati? Let him continue here. He has to earn Xavi’s trust, but Ansu can do it with his talent,” he stated.
“We have received offers for Christensen, for Gavi, for Pedri, for Araújo, for Ter Stegen, for Ansu, for Raphinha, for Balde,” he continued.
“But we are not a selling club. We have no intention to sell our stars.”
Should Barcelona keep Ansu Fati?
Given how much promise Fati showed in his initial breakthrough, cashing in on a La Masia product after his injury return may have not gone down well amongst the Blaugrana faithful.
Barcelona have a long history of watching academy stars thrive in the first team, and selling one of their most promising talents to make room for big-money arrivals will have gone against this proud tradition.
Xavi will need depth in his squad as he aims to progress in the Champions League next season. So far, his side have been eliminated at the group stages twice in a row, and players such as Fati being able to rotate in next season could help give Barca a boost during periods of intense fixture congestion.