In a shocking turn of events, Barcelona youngster Ansu Fati has chosen to move to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League after years of being touted as the ‘next big thing’ out of La Masia. The 20-year-old has chosen to join the Premier League club to bring his career back on track after several injury-ridden years in Catalunya.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the move will be just a season-long loan without an option to buy. The Seagulls are expected to bear the majority of Fati’s weekly wage. The tricky winger has proven himself to be a handful for any defense and if he can stay fit, Brighton will be able to improve their already exciting brand of football.
Ansu Fati to Brighton, here we go! Deal in place between #BHAFC and Barça as revealed earlier, verbal agreeement now done 🚨🔵✨
◉ NO buy option clause.
◉ Loan deal until June 2024.
◉ Main part of salary covered.Travel booked on Thursday, Brighton want it signed ASAP. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/1yHKYArJ9I
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 30, 2023
Ansu Fati used to earn $292,870 per week at Barcelona making him one of the highest earners at the club. So the loan deal is a win-win situation as they can now register Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix without breaching the rules of FFP.
Brighton has agreed to cover 70-75% of his salary which would earn him $205,000- $220,000 per week. Fati will also get some taste of European soccer with the club playing in the UEFA Europa League this season. The contract lasts till 2024 with no option to buy clause included and Fati would need to play at his best to get his career back on track.
Ansu Fati’s all-time stats for Barcelona
During his debut season, Fati was showing early signs of greatness which no doubt tipped the Barcelona board to give him the number 10 shirt after Messi’s departure. During the past few seasons, he has scored a total of 33 goals and provided 13 assists in just 121 games winning every trophy in Spain.
In the 22/23 season in La Liga Fati racked up 10 goal contributions after only 1380 minutes of game time. Nonetheless, these are very impressive stats for someone still only 20 years old. Not only he is the youngest scorer in Barcelona’s history and the third youngest in La Liga’s history, but he is also the youngest scorer in UEFA Champions League history at only 17 years old with a goal against Inter Milan.
the stats ansu fati has for barcelona are crazy at an age like this and the injuries and surgeries he went through. barely starts ganes, barely plays more than 20min a match and still ends up top 5 top scorers of barca
— 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐲 🎭 (@CrazyClownytr) August 29, 2023
Though Fati’s goal return is not that bad, his on-field performances post his injury have not been able to impress Xavi who mainly sees Fati as a backup and believes they can use his wages to sign someone else on loan. Another reason behind letting Fati go is that selling an academy player generates FFP space in a much more efficient way.
