Why did Fati reject Liverpool, Man Utd and PSG?

Stefan Bienkowski

21 Oct 2021 20:30 BST
5 min read

Will Barcelona sign a replacement for Ansu Fati in January? — © ProShots

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has revealed that he had offers from “abroad” to consider before he finally settled on renewing his contract with the Spanish giants.

Article continues under the video

On Thursday the Catalan club confirmed that Fati had signed a new contract that would hopefully keep him at Barca until 2027.

And while Fati was happy to confirm that his heart was always set on staying put at Barca, he did confirm that other clubs had tried to entice him away.

“From the first day, I told Jorge, my first option has always been to stay with Barca,” said the Spaniard in a press conference.

“I am happy that the club has trusted in me. I have had offers from abroad, but my dream has always been to grow and win with Barca.”

Indeed, according to Spanish outlet Cope, Fati received contract offers from Liverpool Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, but opted to stay put at the club that had developed him as a young player since 2012.

So why did Fati decide to stay put at a financially troubled club with little prospects of winning silverware, when he had offers from the Premier League and Ligue 1?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ansu Fati (@ansufati)

Why did Fati reject Liverpool, Man Utd and PSG?

There are likely to be a number of reasons why Fati rejected each of these clubs that are based on the specific teams in question.

For example, there’s little scope for Fati to pick up game time as a left winger in PSG’s current squad, where Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are currently occupying all three attacking spots.

Similarly, Jurgen Klopp has struggled to implement forward players into his side since Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane struck up their remarkable partnership at Anfield. And Man Utd have only just bought a left winger in Jadon Sancho and have another two in reserve in Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.

As such, it’s not that bizarre to accept that while Barca may not be as strong as any of these clubs right now, they can offer Fati a starting role in their side every week and space for the young player to grow. Which is something neither of these three teams could have promised this young star.