Barcelona chief gives Arsenal and Liverpool hope of landing £90m Ansu Fati

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Barcelona’s vice president Rafa Yuste is not ruling out Ansu Fati’s departure as Premier League duo Arsenal and Liverpool eye the La Liga benchwarmer.

As far as the ‘new Messi’ is concerned, things are starting to get, well, messy.

Fati’s father certainly poured petrol on the fire this week, admitting that he was less than impressed with the forward’s lack of regular game time under Xavi Hernandez (Cadena Cope)

While Barcelona’s number ten may agree, one suspects he will not be too pleased with how things are playing out in public. Especially after admitting back in February that he hopes to stick around at the Camp Nou ‘for a long time’. 

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United like Barcelona’s Ansu Fati

Yuste insists that 20-year-old Fati retains Xavi’s ‘trust’. But, tellingly, he is not ruling out a summer sale either, Fabrizio Romano reporting that that Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are testing the waters.

“Ansu Fati? I can’t guarantee 100 per cent that he will stay,” Yuste says in quotes reported by Calciomercato and Marca. “Because it doesn’t just depend on us. 

“But Xavi trusts him. I told him he has to decide his own future. I would never want our talents from La Masia to leave Barca.”

Yuste, meanwhile, had nothing but understanding for Fati Sr’s stance. 

“I have two sons. And sometimes, as a father, you get carried away by emotion,” Barcelona’s VP adds. “Bori only wants the best for his son and nothing else. Ansu Fati has a really strong desire to succeed here.”

Fati has only started 11 games this season in all competitions. What’s more, the man who inherited Messi’s iconic number ten shirt only came off the bench for the final minute of the 2-1 Classico victory over Real Madrid before the March international break. A result which extended Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table to 12 points. 

Arsenal are reportedly holding initial talks with Fati’s representatives. A rumoured £90 million price-tag, however, feels like a sizeable obstacle. Especially considering that, even before his 21st birthday, Fati is already struggling to shake that ‘injury prone’ tag (Sport).