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Who is Ansu Fati, Barcelona’s new young talent?

Ansu Fati made history by being the second youngest footballer to play with the champion in La Liga with 16 years and 298 days

Ansu Fati, in a game of FC Barcelona

Ansu Fati, in a game of FC Barcelona. / Via REUTERS

Reuters | Joseph Cassinelli

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Leer en español: ¿Quién es Ansu Fati, el nuevo joven talento del Barcelona?

Ansu Fati made history with Barcelona during their 5-2 victory over Real Betis, becoming the second-youngest footballer to play with the Catalan champion in La Liga with 16 years and 298 days.

Here are some facts about the new club star.

Ansu, whose full name is Anssumane Fati, was born in the small nation of Guinea-Bissau, in October 2002, and moved to Spain, where his father, Bori, had settled. "With 6 or 7 years he came to Spain, I came before and I didn't know he played football," Bori told Spanish radio station COPE. "They told me that I didn't know how good my son was, he hagged everyone."

Despite being the last jewel of the Barça quarry, the forward grew up in the small town of Herrera, 120 kilometers from Seville, and began his career in Sevilla.

The great clubs of Spain did not take long to notice and Real Madrid and Barça were interested in the nine-year-old boy.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Una publicación compartida de Ansu Fati (@ansufati) el

"Real Madrid offered me better conditions than Barça for my son. We chose Barça because they came to my house and convinced me," said his father. "Barcelona came to the living room of my house with the contract (…) when Sevilla found out they got angry (…) At 9 years old, Sevilla  leaves him without playing for a year."

Fati joined Barça at age 10 in 2012.

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In his family, he is not the only talented footballer, since his two brothers also play for Barça. Brahima, 21, is assigned to Calahorra by the Barcelona club, while his younger brother plays in the same youth team of La Masía as Thiago Messi, son of Lionel.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Una publicación compartida de Ansu Fati (@ansufati) el

 

Such is the confidence that the club has in him, that the striker has recently signed an agreement that will keep him there until 2022, with a contract termination clause of 100 million euros. He was summoned by coach Ernesto Valverde before the injuries of Messi, Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé after impressing with the under-19 team in the preseason, despite being three years younger than most of his teammates.

Fati was not the youngest player in the club in a league game for 20 days. Vicente Martínez played with 16 years and 278 days in the 1940s.

According to the club, the youngest Barça debutante in any competition was Albert Almasque, who played in the first team of the Macaya Cup in 1902 with 13 years, 11 months and six days.

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