Barcelona: Ansu Fati handed No. 22 shirt and has buy-out clause hiked to 400 million euros
The striker signed his new contract which will keep him at Camp Nou until 2022. He will make his first appearance as a first team player against Villarreal.
Ansu Fati is now officially a first team player at Barça. This morning he signed his new contract, which features a considerable revision to his buy-out clause - one of the issues which Barcelona were keen to address given the player's rapid progression both at club level and internationally. Manchester United had been looking at putting in a bid for the teenager. From now, any club who is interested in signing Ansu must pay the 400 million euro buy-out - more than double the 170 million it was set at previously. What has not changed is the length of his contract or his salary.
"It's the dream of every player from their first day in La Masia. I'm very happy, as is my family. I'm very excited about the future and want to continue learning from my team mates and keep improving. Every year at Barça is a new challenge and I hope to overcome each of the next few years", Ansu told Barcelona's media department after signing his new contract.
Ansu Fati, Barcelona's No. 22
The winger will wear the number 22 shirt, which had been left vacant following Arturo Vidal's departure to Inter Milan. He had previously been given the number 31 shirt, but did not officially count as a first-team player despite making 33 appearances in all competitions in 2019-20.
With his new first team status, Ansu Fati moves up a rung in the pecking order in the wake of Luis Suárez's move to Atlético Madrid; he will join Leo Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Martin Braithwaite as the squad's frontline. The club's main objective now is to add Memphis Depay.