Ansu Fati - the Remontada of a wonderkid
Hailed as the next big thing, Ansu Fati arrived at AS Monaco this summer in search of a revival. The first signs are more than promising for the Spaniard, once tipped to replace Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
Big shoes to fill
Before Lamine Yamal, there was Fati. The latter broke through in the 2019-20 season at formative club Barcelona, receiving rave reviews and drawing some impressive comparisons. Barca's second youngest debutant at the time he made his first professional appearance, at the age of 16 years and 298 days in August 2019, he then went on to become Spain's youngest player in 84 years back in September 2020 and then their youngest ever goalscorer.
Fati had the world at his feet. "Fati impressed me the first time I saw him in training," remarked his Barcelona team-mate, Messi, at the time. "He has everything to be an important player for Barca in the future."
Naturally, the Spain international wanted to shirk the Messi successor tag. "Being called 'the new Messi'? I don't pay attention to these things; I just think about training and learning. I'm fulfilling a dream, and I want to continue like this," he said.
However, he would not continue in the manner in which he began his career. In the years that have followed, Fati has spent as much - if not more - time on the treatment table as he has on the pitch. At the age of just 22, he has already missed 686 days of football due to injury.
A new start at Monaco
A loan move to Brighton two seasons ago failed to right the course, and last season, he made just 11 appearances for Barcelona in what was another injury-hit campaign. I
That's when Monaco came in. The experts in youth development, the Principality club are looking to revive the career of one of modern football's most famed wonderkids. Les Monégasques have been cautious with Fati, noting that the starts of recent seasons have been punctuated by injuries.
As a result, he, like fellow new signing Paul Pogba, followed his individual programme, waiting for the moment to make his mark. He certainly did just that against Metz at the weekend, netting his first Ligue 1 McDonald's goal after just 37 seconds and getting the crucial third late on, which allowed Monaco to regain the upper hand. His side would go on to win 5-2.
Ansu Fati is back 🥳 pic.twitter.com/PMSyllnwFm
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 21, 2025
"Ansu is a big name. For him, the past few weeks have been hard, and then to bounce back, for sure, you are emotional," said Adi Hutter after Fati's brace on Sunday afternoon.
The Spaniard, sat alone on the bench after his feat, looked contemplative as the rest of his teammates celebrated the win that takes Monaco to second in Ligue 1 McDonald's. "Of course you're emotional when you score and you help the team. It is a joyful moment," said Fati post-match.
He is quickly finding his feet in Monaco, where he lives with his sister and where he insists he is "very happy". But he doesn't necessarily see the move to Ligue 1 McDonald's as a clean slate. "The start of a new career? I don't see it like that [...] you have to live in the moment and the past doesn't matter," said Fati. Whilst Fati isn't interested in the past, his future is once again looking bright.
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