Cristiano Ronaldo provides Barcelona transfer BREAKTHROUGH for forgotten wonderkid

Muhammad Butt

Updated: 10 Apr 2025 19:13 BST
5 min read

Ansu Fati, FC Barcelona — © IMAGO/FootballTransfers

Barcelona may have finally reached a breakthrough with their former wonderkid.

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During the closing moments of Barcelona's 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg, we saw something we haven't seen for the last four months: an Ansu Fati appearance.

The former wonderkid, who still holds the record for the youngest player to ever score in the Champions League having notched against Inter at just 17 years and 40 days old, came on and played the final few minutes.

That Ansu Fati replaced Barcelona's current wonderkid Lamine Yamal added a sense of poetry to the occasion, that Lamine Yamal asked to be subbed off despite not being injured (seemingly just to give Ansu some minutes) made that poetry beautiful.

Current ETV

Ansu Fati

F (CL), M (L)

Barcelona

Ansu Fati

F (CL), M (L)

Barcelona

ETV Range

€6.3M - €8.5M

Barcelona spent all summer and January trying to sell Ansu Fati, but the Spaniard's refusal to accept a move away from the Camp Nou scuppered any and every potential deal.

Al-Nassr for Ansu Fati?

However, Toni Juanmarti reports in Sport that Ansu is now coming around to the idea that he has to leave in the summer.

What's more, reports Juanmarti, Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr are one of the clubs rumoured to be a possible destination for Ansu, who does need a less physically intense league to re-find his best form, and their board was in attendance at the Montjuic to watch Barcelona beat Dortmund.

Was it just luck? Or could Al-Nassr be genuinely interested in taking Ansu?

Jorge Mendes and The Cristiano Ronaldo Connection

It's worth pointing out that Ansu Fati shares an agent - Jorge Mendes - with Al-Nassr's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

This could be advantageous to securing any transfer as Mendes already knows how the club operate and, with Ronaldo's contract also expiring in the summer, has leverage to move Al-Nassr into action for either one or both of his clients.

© IMAGO - Ansu Fati has the same agent as Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo

Whether it's Al-Nassr or another club, what's clear is that Ansu needs to leave Barcelona.

The once delightful Spaniard has seen his promising career destroyed by a knee injury, a botched surgery and then a refusal on his part to get another surgery, leading to a series of physical problems that have dogged his career.

Ansu has played just 191 minutes this season for Hansi Flick's Barcelona, with all his appearances bar one start against Sevilla coming off the bench. He has no goals or assists and hasn't looked sharp in any of his cameos.

Before the Dortmund game, the last time Ansu was seen was the Copa del Rey third round win over UD Barbastro where he played the final 28 minutes.

Since then he has either been an unused sub or, just as often, he's not even been in the matchday squad. The club pushed him to leave in January but, as always, he resisted.

Ansu Fati: a sad decline

What's clear watching Ansu Fati is that he lacks all of the explosion he used to possess, whether that's running with the ball or shooting.

It's easy to forget now but he was a sensational talent who burst onto the scene at 16 with a lovely headed goal away to Osasuna.

The teenager instantly struck up a connection with Leo Messi, dovetailing his runs off the ball to match the Argentine's superlative passing skills.

And once Messi left, it was Ansu who inherited the no. 10 shirt.

Now he finally looks to be on the way out, and the no. 10 shirt is rumoured to pass to the next great wonderkid, Lamine Yamal, who already turned down the chance to take the no. 10 last summer out of respect for Ansu Fati.

Barcelona will be hoping Lamine Yamal avoids the problems that have plagued Ansu Fati. Meanwhile Ansu Fati will be hoping to find his way in football and get back some of what he lost to injuries and bad luck.