Ansu Fati's father is 'angry' with son's lack of Barcelona playing time
Bori Fati, the father of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati, has delivered a punchy interview questioning his son's lack of playing time while hinting at a possible move away.
Fati made his Barcelona debut in August 2019 as a 16-year-old, becoming the club's second-youngest player in the history of the Spanish top flight. The fleet-footed forward continued to topple age-related records for appearances and goals - both at club level and with the senior Spanish national team - until he suffered a serious knee injury in November 2020.
It wouldn't be until September 2021 that Fati returned to the pitch but various muscular problems have dogged his reintegration into the first team ever since.
Afforded just nine league starts despite being available for 25 of the club's 26 matches this season, Fati's lack of game time has clearly irked his father Bori. When tasked with providing an explanation for his sparing involvement, Fati Sr directed the question as Barcelona's manager Xavi Hernandez.
“Good question, ask him," Bori Fati sniped on the Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. "I don’t have an answer for that either and he as a coach will have his reasons. Maybe he thinks he lacks things like defending and I understand that.”
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Bori revealed that he would meet with Fati's agent Jorge Mendes in the coming weeks with talk of his son's immediate future on the agenda.
Fati's Barcelona contract expires in 2027 and the club reportedly have an option of extending it for a further two years but Bori revealed that there has been interest in his son in the past which Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona's club president before Joan Laporta returned to office, quashed.
“I as a father am angry, yes. Maybe I’m not right, but I don’t have a problem with that. Everybody knows who Mendes is. He told me two years ago that he had offers and Bartomeu didn’t want to listen to them.”
According to his father, Fati's intentions have always been to remain in Catalonia. “For Ansu yes. It will depend on what Barça wants. If it’s for me, I want to see Ansu succeeding, because he is a guy who comes to succeed. There are things you can’t discuss.”
However, 90min revealed in February that the player's representatives had let it be known to the Premier League's big six and Newcastle United that Fati is currently unhappy with his situation at Camp Nou.
Fati's father also disclosed that he has had discussions with Barcelona's director of football, Mateu Almemany, concerning Fati's lack of game time. “I called Mateu. I think we deserve much more. When you are at Barça you know where you are and that there are many internationals. But we are talking about Barcelona’s [number] ten.”
“If this continues like this I’m going to Seville, that’s it," Bori threatened. "I didn’t go to the game against Madrid, why not. Right now I’m not going to the stadium anymore. I have my box and I’m not going anymore.”
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