Barcelona: Ansu Fati given No. 10 shirt after Lionel Messi exit
Barcelona has passed on the No.10 shirt to Ansu Fati after Lionel Messi moved on to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer, the club confirmed.
Sources said that Barca had considered leaving the number unused for the season, but LaLiga rules state that first-team players must wear numbers 1-25.
Ansu returned to training recently following nine months out with an injury. He had originally been given the No. 17 shirt for the upcoming campaign and has previously worn No. 22 and No. 23 since making his debut in 2019.
Messi, who joined PSG on a free transfer after his contract at Camp Nou expired, had worn the No. 10 at Barca since 2008. He had inherited the number from Ronaldinho, with Juan Roman Riquelme and Rivaldo among those to wear it before him.
Ansu, 18, has not played for Barcelona since injuring his knee last November. He has had several operations and at the end of August returned to full training. Barca is hopeful he will be available for matches in September.
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The Spanish teenager burst on the scene in 2019 and became the club’s youngest debutant in 78 years when he played in the match against Betis aged 16 years and 298 days.
Just a week later he became the club’s youngest goalscorer in LaLiga, and in December of the same year his winning goal against Inter Milan made him the youngest scorer in the Champions League.
He has, in total, made 41 appearances for the first team, scoring 13 goals.
Since Messi’s departure, Barca has signed striker Luuk de Jong on loan from Sevilla having already brought in Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero on free transfers this summer. Martin Braithwaite and Ousmane Dembele, who is currently injured, are their other options in attack, along with youngster Yusuf Demir.
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