Messi to add insult to injury for Ansu Fati

Tom Hancock

• 29 Mar 2023 16:47 BST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi will reclaim Barcelona’s number 10 shirt should he make a sensational return to the Camp Nou this summer, in a possible further blow to Ansu Fati.

Messi is out of contract at PSG this summer, and it remains to be seen whether Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain will extend his stay with the Ligue 1 giants.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, 35, has been linked with a move back to Barca more or less ever since he left two years ago – when the club’s financial crisis meant they couldn’t afford to keep their biggest star.

READ: Father of ‘Lionel Messi’s heir’ launches savage attack on Barcelona

According to Spanish journalist Cristina Cubero, were Messi to re-join Barcelona, he would take back the number 10 shirt currently worn by Ansu.

Such reports are bound to only add to the sense that Ansu isn’t valued by Barca – as has been vociferously claimed by the 20-year-old’s father.

Speaking to COPE, Bori Fati said: “Ask Xavi why he’s not playing Ansu. I don’t have any answer. Xavi wants him to work hard, and he is. I feel disappointed as a father.”

Failing to live up to expectations

Ansu burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old back in 2019 and has previously been billed as the heir to Messi – but the forward has yet to fully live up to his immense potential.

And the Spain international has found his opportunities limited this season: he’s made just nine league starts (although he should end the campaign as a LaLiga champion for the first time as Barcelona run away with the Spanish title).

Ansu inherited the number 10 shirt from Messi ahead of the 2021/22 season, having spent nine months on the sidelines due to a serious knee injury.