Barcelona news: Ansu Fati's father reveals he rejected offer from Real Madrid for his son

What's the story?

Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati's father has revealed that he rejected an approach from Real Madrid for his son prior to the teenager's move to the La Masia academy in 2012.

Further, he also described his emotion when he found out that his son was about to make his debut.

In case you didn't know...

Fati made his debut for the Barcelona senior team against Real Betis last night, becoming the club's second-youngest player to feature in a LaLiga game - aged 16 years and 298 days. He is only behind Vicente Martinez, who was just 18 days younger than him when he played for the Blaugrana against Real Madrid in October 1941.

The Bissau-born attacker joined the academy from Sevilla in 2012. He recently agreed to a deal that would see him at the club until 2022 as well.

The heart of the matter

Ansu Fati's father, Bori Fati, revealed that Real Madrid had approached him with a better financial offer, but they chose the Barcelona project instead. Speaking to RAC1 (via Mirror), he said:

"I had an offer from Madrid for a lot of money, but Albert Puig came and told me that they were Barca and that they had a project."

"That in a few years I would see him there. We know he works but we couldn't imagine that he would be playing with these beasts. Training with Pique."

He also explained how he felt when he got to know his son was going to make his debut for the senior team, adding:

"My cell phone was silent and I didn't find out. Then he called his mother and said, 'Mom, I'm going with the first team.' I jumped, I couldn't believe it..."

What's next?

Barcelona will look to build on their winning start when they take on Osasuna on 31 August.