Barcelona and one-off Protege Ansu Fati are divorced for the second time, after another frustrating season for the 22-year-old. This season Fati got little in the way of playing time by Hansi Flick and will look for a new start in Ligue 1.
As announced by FC Barcelona, Fati joined Monaco for a loan agreement until the end of the season. Although the club has not unveiled details, it is thought that the option to buy is in the region of € 11 million, while Barcelona will also retain a return option on the attacker for which that deal had to be completed.
Both club and players seem to have achieved the fact that an exit and playing time are needed for Fati, but the Blaugrana wanted to keep a certain control over his future. Monaco pays around 50% of its wages. Fati has also extended his deal to 2028, which reduces the impact on the Barcelona salary limit, and it is said that it will save them around € 8 million this season.
Although Fati missed a total of about six months of action in total, for the majority of his campaigns in Brighton and Hove Albion and Barcelona, Fati is now fit. With fierce competition for places, however, Fati needed a series of games to get the match sharpness back to compete or his place. However, that lack of sharpness clearly obstructed his ability to win a place. After four seasons without consistent football, Fati will be desperate to get it as Monaco.
Fati should flash that his old self comes under Flick, but struggled to perform with the same verve that made him a breakout star. According to the sport, Fati Barcelona leaves rather frustrated by the German coach, the feeling that he did not get a fair chance to show his value. Flick doubted the dedication of Fati in training a number of times in press conferences, and he only received 289 minutes of action during the season.