Ansu Fati ‘Frustated’ And ‘Disappointed’ With Life At FC Barcelona Under Xavi

Ansu Fati has been left “frustrated and disappointed” by life at FC Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez, according to a report from Catalonia.

The 19-year-old has failed to make a single start in La Liga in 2022/2023, with his most recent cameo a 31 minute appearance against Elche at Camp Nou on Saturday in a 3-0 win that temporarily fired Barca to the top of the table.

His only appearance in the first XI from the offset so far came against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League. And while the protagonist in the 5-1 route of the Czech minnows was hat trick hero Robert Lewandowski, Fati was hauled off after 65 minutes while failing to make an impact.

Against Bayern Munich in Barca’s biggest game of the season so far, he was given just 10 minutes off the bench with the score already 2-0 to the Bavarians.

According to the popular Mas Que Pelotas Youtube channel then, Fati is currently “frustrated and disappointed” with his lot.

Not being called up to Luis Enrique’s Spain national team on Friday added insult to injury, and he is struggling to get back to his best level on the pitch as shown in a breakout season in 2019/2020 when he took the world by storm as a 16-year-old and broke a number of youngest appearance maker and goalscorer records.

FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is notably protective of his young charge when broached on the subject of Fati’s playing time, and claims that there are no mental issues at hand as per his performances.

“He’s fine,” Xavi answered at his pre-match press conference on Friday after Ansu was omitted from the Spain squad. “We’re following a plan with him but we’re being very cautious. It is going well.”

“He will be important. It’s a different situation, it’s difficult to manage because he went a long time without playing. Getting that rhythm and intensity back needs time. We have to be cautious,” Xavi insisted.

“Last season, maybe we moved too quickly with him and he had a relapse (…) It is not a mental or a physical issue. It’s just that we have a specific plan for him. He’s going to come in little by little. For now, we have decided to manage his participation, but it’s not a mental issue,” the manager further claimed.

With two goals and two assists across 150 minutes in La Liga, Fati’s return is still pretty impressive.

Yet given his age and undoubted quality, it is normal to understand that the youngster wants to boast more of a prominent role in the Blaugrana fold.