Last Updated: March 14, 2023, 10:56 IST
Barcelona manager Xavi (AP)
Xavi ruled out any chance of Ansu Fati leaving Barcelona saying he wants the 20-year-old prodigy to stay at Camp Nou
Barcelona’s financial troubles are well known. Reportedly, Barcelona is still thought to be in debt to the tune of around £ 1 billion. Therefore, several prominent clubs around Europe are on the lookout for quality Barcelona players. Now a report by Spanish news outlet Sport suggests that the Catalan giants could be forced to sell as many as six of their star players this summer. This includes winger Ansu Fati, who has been linked with Premier League giant Manchester United.
Clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United could battle it out for the talismanic winger. Now Barcelona boss Xavi has weighed in on Fati’s future at Barcelona. While speaking to Forbes, Xavi ruled out any chance of Manchester United signing Fati. Xavi also suggested that he wanted the 20-year-old prodigy to stay at Camp Nou.
“No, no, no. Things will work out for him, we have to be patient. Ansu is a spectacular asset to the club. We trust him a lot, he is working very well. I am very happy with his tremendous mentality in training, but be patient. He is 20 years old and needs time, like everyone else. Things will work out for him, now is not the time to talk about sales,” Xavi was quoted as saying by Forbes.
Although Ansu Fati has been touted as a star in the making, the Spaniard has only been directly involved in nine goals in 36 appearances for Barcelona this season.
He came off the bench in both legs of Barcelona’s recent Europa League play-off fixture against Manchester United. But Fati wasn’t able to do much as Barcelona were knocked out of the competition. Besides, Raphinha has been the preferred option for Xavi on the right wing.
Meanwhile, Barcelona will have to adopt several cost-cutting measures. But they cannot use any more economic levers that they famously pulled over the summer last year to sign Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha
To manage the incredibly high wage bill, the club could facilitate the departure of players like Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Franck Kessie, Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia at the end of the season.
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