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According to reports, Manchester United narrowly missed out on a €150 million deal to sign Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati in the summer. The Spaniard is the latest La Masia product to explode into the first team and is considered one of the most exciting young players in Europe.
Fati joined Barcelona as a 10-year-old in 2012 and signed his first professional contract with the Catalan club last summer. A few months later, he became the second-youngest player to debut for the Blaugrana, but it was only the start of a spectacular year ahead.
The Spaniard appeared 33 times for Barcelona last season and even found the back of the net eight times. This season, Fati has featured heavily in the first team again. He scored five times in ten appearances until he picked up a knee injury that required surgery.
The Spaniard will now miss around three months of action, which is a big blow for Barcelona. He has already scored 13 goals from 43 appearances for the Spanish giants so far. For the record, he is only 18 years old.
The teenager recently finished second behind Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland in the 2020 Golden Boy Award, which speaks volumes of the talent Barcelona have on their hands. However, the Blaugrana were close to losing him to Manchester United in the summer.
Barcelona cut off the deal with Manchester United in the eleventh hour
Manchester United were heavily linked to Barcelona’s teenage sensation over the summer, but Fati stayed put at the Camp Nou beyond transfer deadline day. However, it has now been revealed that the Spaniard’s agent Jorge Mendes had agreed a €150m deal with the Red Devils for the youngster’s services.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have loved to have the youngster at the Theatre of Dreams, and his arrival would have been nothing short of a coup for Manchester United. It appears that the Red Devils were very close to getting their man, only for Barcelona to play spoilsport.
The Catalans reportedly pulled the plug on the deal in the eleventh hour, leaving the Red Devils frustrated. Barcelona are already reaping the benefits of their decision, with the injury a minor setback in the promising development of the youngster.
Manchester United, meanwhile, will be ruing the missed chance. The Red Devils have struggled to impress so far this season, and stuttered to their first home win of the Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Perhaps Fati’s presence in the team would have transformed Manchester United’s fortunes so far.
