chronology-of-ansu-fati's-“ordeal”:-how-the-heir-to-messi's-10-at-fc-barcelona-ended-up-on-loan-at-english-brightonChronology of Ansu Fati's “ordeal”: How the heir to Messi's 10 at FC Barcelona ended up on loan at English Brighton
Humberto Viera's avatar

By Humberto Viera

01 Sep 2023, 14:51 PM EDT

The history of Ansu Fati at FC Barcelona could be considered disappointing, but this adjective should not be taken as a negative since neither the player nor the club could do something to avoid the bad past of fate in football, where a simple injury can condition the rest of your career.

The born in Guinea-Bissau and Spanish national Anssumane Fati Vieira, better known as Ansu Fati, will play from this season for Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League thanks to a loan contract until June 30, 2024.

As announced by the Catalan club in a statement, the 20-year-old footballer is leaving the club where he was formed four years after his notable appearance as the possible “heir” of Argentine Lionel Messi. Since he made his Barcelona debut in an official match in August 2019 under Ernesto Valverde, Ansu has played 112 games, 41 of them as a starter, scoring 29 goals and distributing seven assists.

However, the new jewel of the Masía failed to meet the enormous expectations that were placed on him, largely due to injuries.

Timeline of operations and injuries

Ansu Fati ended up inheriting Leo Messi’s number 10 number but since November 7, 2020, in a match between Barcelona and Betis, the promising youngster injured the internal meniscus of his left knee, undergoing surgery in the following days.

Ansu had to undergo surgery again in January 2021 as reported by TV3 at the time due to a recovery problem and two months later he again entered the operating room to check the suture and clean the internal meniscus.

Already represented by Jorge Mendes, in May 2021 he traveled to Portugal to be treated by Dr. José Carlos Noronha, where the internal meniscus would have been partially removed. It should be noted that neither the club nor the player’s environment offered details about these surgical interventions.

In total, Ansu Fati underwent four operations between November 2020 and May 2021 and played again on September 26, 2021 against Levante. But two months later, on November 6, the Barça player injured the biceps femoris in his left leg, a situation that kept him off the pitch until January 20, 2022, but this time he suffered an injury to the proximal tendon of the left biceps femoris .

This is why Ansu Fati’s talent has had to be dosed to take care of him, coming to play 51 games last season, 14 as a starter, a game where he scored 10 goals. However, the English team led by Roberto De Zerbi presents itself as a new opportunity for Ansu Fati to exploit all his talent in a much more physical and competitive league than the Spanish one.

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