With the poor state of finances at Camp Nou, Barcelona need all the help they can get. Joan Laporta, the club president, has his work cut out as he tries to reposition the club to remain competitive on and off the pitch.
Unlike some years ago, Barcelona have been unable to compete favourably in the transfer market and have had to rely on the scraps the market has to offer. Free transfers, swap and loan deals have been the order at the illustrious club.
With the club forced to lose Lionel Messi to PSG for free, it has had to look inwards for the material it needs to survive. La Masia has become a focal point for Barcelona as Laporta tries to return the club to glory days. La Masia has produced some brilliant players in the past, and plenty of the clubs’ glory days were by La Masia products. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro and even the great Lionel Messi walked through the hallowed halls of La Masia.
Laporta wants to protect its salvageable assets and has quickly moved to tie some of its players to long-term contracts - Ansu Fati being the latest to extend his contract at the club.
Ansu Fati signs a new contract
After months of jousting amid interest from other clubs, Barcelona has concluded the contract extension of one of its brightest talents. Ansu Fati is seen as the heir to Lionel Messi and has finally committed his immediate future to FC Barcelona.
According to the club’s website, Blaugrana confirmed that the Spanish forward penned a five-and-a-half-year contract to remain at Barcelona. The deal has a release clause of €1 billion inserted into it.
With an option to extend by two years, Barcelona left nothing to chance as they opted to keep Fati at the club for longer.
The contract renewal means that the 18-year-old has tied his future to Barcelona till 2027. It brings to an end to the jousting that happened with regards to his future.
Barca woes dictate policyction
The financial state that Barcelona found itself meant that the era of big-money transfers at the club was at an end.
The new policy ensured the departure of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, while Ansu Fati and Pedri were at the core of the clubs’ immediate future.
Pedri recently signed a new contract at the club despite Barcelona’s inability to increase his wage exponentially. The player agreed to remain at the club, though there was interest from Spain and abroad. Like Ansu Fati, he had a €1 billion release clause inserted in his deal.
Manchester City were known admirers of Fati, but the player has opted to continue with the Blaugrana.
Fati has 47 caps to his name in a Barca shirt across all competitions, with 15 goals credited to him. He just recently returned from a 10-month injury layoff.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
