Barcelona (AFP)
"FC Barcelona and player Ansu Fati have reached an agreement for the extension of his contract until June 30, 2027. The release clause is set at 1,000 million euros," or one billion euros, said Barça in a press release.
Despite his age, Fati, whose previous contract expired next summer, has already become one of the Camp Nou idols.
He even recovered the N.10 left free by the Argentine legend Lionel Messi, who left for Paris SG last summer.
Victim of a meniscus fracture of the left knee on November 7, 2020 against Betis Sevilla, the young Spanish international (4 caps) underwent four operations and remained sidelined for nearly a year.
On September 26, for his comeback, Fati came on in the 81st minute and scored the 3-0 goal in added time against Levante, for Matchday 7 of La Liga.
And on Sunday, for his first start since his injury, Fati scored the 1-1 goal and then caused the 2-1 penalty before giving up his place.
Wednesday against Dynamo Kiev, he entered after the break (46th), without being decisive.
Barcelona midfielder Ansu Fati during the Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on October 20, 2021. LLUIS GENE AFP
This is the second major contract extension sealed by the Catalan club, after that of midfielder Pedri (18) until 2026, announced Thursday with, again, a departure clause at one billion d 'euros.
Tuesday at a pre-match press conference, Ronald Koeman had already argued that Barça was "close to extending Ansu Fati" by judging that it was "very good news".
"He is a player who must embody the future of this club," added the Dutch technician.
With 13 pro goals, Ansu Fati is the Blaugrana who scored the most goals before he turned 19, ahead of Bojan Krkic (12 goals), and Lionel Messi (7).
In his first 2,000 minutes with Barca's first team, Fati scored 15 goals, when Messi scored 11.
© 2021 AFP