Ansu committed to Barcelona despite warnings of Jorge Mendes
Martin Macdonald
- 16 Sept 2021 15:53 BST
- 6 min read
It hasn't been a summer of good news for Barcelona as the club have endured one of the most tumultuous periods in their history.
The Blaugrana are well over €1 billion in debt and this is partly due to their exorbitant spending on wages and transfer fees over the past decade.
Prior to the 2021/22 season, the club were ordered by La Liga to reduce their wage bill significantly to meet new regulations.
That is what ultimately what left to the emotional departure of legendary player Lionel Messi as well as another star in Antoine Griezmann, as the club were forced to get them both off the wage bill.
TRENDING
Then, one player who was viewed as a future superstar, the jewel of La Masia, Ilaix Moriba, was sold to RB Leipzig for a relatively small fee after he refused to sign a new contract.
On the pitch, there downfall was summed up by their first Champions League match of the campaign which was a humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich.
One piece of good news has emerged from the club recently, though and it involved wonderkid Ansu Fati.
Fati burst on to the scene in the 2019/20 campaign, making his debut for the club off the bench in a 5-2 victory over Real Betis.
At 16 years and 298 days, he became the second youngest player ever to feature for the Barcelona first-time, behind Vicenc Martinez who debuted 18 days younger in 1941.
He would subsequently become the youngest player to play in the Champions League for Barcelona
Then, he became the youngest player to feature for Spain since before the second World War.
However, he sustained a knee problem playing against Real Betis on 7 November and has not been seen on the field since.
Ansu's future
Though he will be missing for nearly a year, Fati is currently back in full training and has came through his most recent sessions unscathed.
He will likely need some time more to build up his fitness, but as for his knee, it is holding up for now.
With a return seemingly on the horizon, focus has turned back to his potential impact on the pitch, as well as his future at Barcelona.
Mundo Deportivo reported on Thursday that Fati had an informal meeting with agent Jorge Mendes on Wednesday.
In that meeting, Mendes warned Fati of Barcelona's current precarious situation in regards to their finances, and that the player may need to accept a pay cut in any negotiations for a contract extension.
According to the Spanish outlet, Fati informed Mendes that he is 100% committed to Barcelona at the moment and is hoping himself to be the player that ushers in a new era.
Barca have thrown their support behind him, too, as he was recently given the iconic number 10 shirt at Camp Nou that was previously worn by Messi.
At the unveiling of Barcelona's new kit over the summer, Fati was also asked by sporting director Mateu Alemany about his future plans, with the player committing to the Blaugrana then, also.
