Barcelona have made pretty much a perfect start to the new La Liga season.
There have been six wins from six games. Hansi Flick’s successful new style has been taken up quickly. Stars such as Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski are shining. Players lost on the fringes, like Raphinha or Inigo Martinez, are now vital members of the squad.
After the low points at the end of last season and Xavi’s dismissal, Flick has revived the team in many ways. It’s got the fanbase hoping another previously improbable dream might come true. Can the German manager also get Ansu Fati back to his best?
You might have forgotten, but Fati is still Barcelona’s No 10. The 21-year-old, who spent an underwhelming season on loan at Brighton last term, was last week back in a Barca matchday squad for the first time since August 2023.
He came on for the final minutes of Barca’s 2-1 Champions League defeat by Monaco on Thursday, but he did not come off the bench against Villarreal in La Liga (a 5-1 win) on Sunday. With two more league games coming against Getafe (tonight) and Osasuna (on Saturday) in short succession this week, Fati might expect more chances to show what he can do.
Fati challenging for the ball in last week’s Monaco defeat (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)
“Ansu (Fati) is ready to play,” Flick said in a press conference last week, confirming the youngster had recovered from the foot injury that kept him out earlier this season. “All I can say about Ansu is that he is training really well, he enjoys himself and has been scoring loads of goals in training.”
There is a general consensus among Barca fans that Fati deserves an opportunity under Flick. His story is one that has left many disappointed — but blame for that lies with circumstances that conspired to transform him from a potentially world-class forward to a misfit in the game.
GO DEEPER
Ansu Fati, Barcelona’s brilliant record breaker, and the injury that changed everything
To the satisfaction of supporters, Flick seems ready to provide Fati with the platform he craves. The German manager has been impressed by what he’s seeing.
Fati was one of the (very few) senior Barca players present for Flick’s very first day in pre-season, as he was not involved in international duties this summer. During the first two weeks of training, dressing room sources (who preferred to speak anonymously to protect their position) said Fati was one of the players that stood out to Flick.
One of Barcelona’s new physical coaches for this season, Rafa Maldonado, did specific work with the former Spain player, readapting him according to the club’s needs. But progression hit a stumbling block just before the pre-season tour of the United States. Fati was suffering from plantar fasciitis.
Fati did not travel to the U.S. and his injury also prevented him from being in the mix for a potential departure despite the club being open to offers. Last summer, he was in a similar position — of wanting to prove what he can do at Barca — but the club decided to sanction the Brighton switch instead. If Fati is back to square one, though, it’s in a totally different environment and one where Flick’s new system should provide him with a ray of hope.
Fati is still Barca’s youngest Champions League goalscorer (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Flick’s Barca need attackers who know how to operate in central spaces. The conversion of Raphinha into a whole new player and the recent injuries to Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez might have opened a path. After last week’s match in Monaco, Flick answered questions on where Fati might fit in.
“Ansu prefers to play as a left-winger,” Flick said. “From my perspective, I accept that because I see he has the qualities to perform there, but I believe he can operate in central positions, too.
“But I also think he needs some time now and he will get this. As a club, we will take care of him because it is so important for players to stay fit as much as possible.
“I see in Ansu a very different player. I was in Brighton the last campaign. I was allowed to visit the club in a training session as well as in a match. Here, Ansu is totally different. He is more focused, more able to bring his quality to the pitch.”
Last term, Fati made 27 appearances for Brighton in all competitions, starting in just eight. He played 994 minutes, scoring four times and providing one assist. At this point, no one expects Fati to suddenly recover the wonderkid status he earned after bursting onto the scene back in 2019. That great run of form led to Manchester United offering Barcelona €100million for him in the summer of 2020 (£83.5m; $111.8m at current rates).
In his debut campaign of 2019-2020, 16-year-old Fati became Barca’s youngest goalscorer — a record since taken by Lamine Yamal (though Fati is still Barca’s youngest Champions League goalscorer). He finished second in the 2020 Golden Boy award behind Erling Haaland.
In the summer of 2021, Lionel Messi left. Fati was given the No 10 shirt — and then a serious knee injury struck. It’s a story we’re sadly familiar with and the short of it is: he’s not been the same player since.
That October, Barca signed the injured Fati to a new contract extension to prove their faith in him — that deal expires in 2027. The terms he agreed were in line with expectations everyone had — that he would eventually become a Ballon d’Or contender. His salary is above Barcelona’s other valuable assets such as Pedri, Gavi and Ronald Araujo — and this was seen as a hurdle to hopes of raising transfer interest this summer.
The real hope among fans now is that Fati can feel like a Barcelona star again and become a real option for Flick. There are many causes for regret over his development since that incredibly impressive arrival, but not many are directed towards a player who has had a tough time in recent years.
Deep down, he is a La Masia kid, a guy who’s supported and represented Barcelona for over half his young life, a figure that once embodied hopes for a new generation during troubled circumstances.
And now, he should get the opportunity to write a new chapter.
(Top photo: Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images)
