When Xavi Hernandez Will Reportedly Tell Ansu Fati To Leave FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez already has a date in mind for when he will tell Ansu Fati and several other players that he doesn’t count on them for next season, according to AS.

Barca are currently on the cusp of landing their maiden La Liga crown under the legendary former midfielder, and a first in four years overall.

In 2019-2020, the last time the Blaugrana could call themselves reigning Spanish champions, Fati burst onto the scene as a record-breaking 16-year-old who had the world at his feet.

In 2021, he was handed the departed Lionel Messi’s iconic ’10’ jersey when signing a new contract until 2027 with a €1 billion ($1.09 billion) release clause such was his lofty status at the time.

Now in the present, however, Fati has fallen way down the pecking order in favor of the likes of fellow La Masia graduate Gavi, who takes his spot on the left as a false winger under Xavi.

Several reports have linked Fati to a previously-unthinkable exit from Catalonia in the summer, with Wolverhampton Wanderers ready to offer a $33 million-plus-Ruben Neves part exchange deal this summer which Barca are allegedly eager to accept according to SPORT.

Though Xavi continually backs Fati in public, his team selections don’t suggest that he has faith in the Guinea-born 20-year-old. To this end, according to AS, he already has a date in mind for when he will tell the Spain international a change of scenery might be better for all concerned.

As explained by the Madrid-based newspaper’s Barca correspondent Javier Miguel, this could be as soon as Monday or Tuesday next week if the Blaugrana tie up the league title away at bitter rivals Espanyol on Sunday.

Being crowned champions behind enemy lines will accelerate the departure of several unwanted players including Fati according to Javier Miguel.

At the turn of the following week, Xavi will reportedly sit down and hold meetings with them to tell them that they don’t feature in the club’s plans for 2023/2024.

Whereas some stars will be discarded for sporting reasons too, however, Javier Miguel explains that the reason to sell Fati is heavily inspired by Barca’s financial hardships.

As a product of the youth academy, any potential sale of Fati presents pure profit for the club which is still paying off the purchases of fellow struggling wingers such as Ferran Torres and Raphinha while also required to shed €200 million ($220 million) from the wage bill to navigate Financial Fair Play.