Is Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati the next Lionel Messi?

Anssumane Fati Vieira, more commonly known as Ansu Fati, lit up the world last season in La Liga 2019/20, where he became the youngest player to feature in a senior match since 1941 at the age of just 16 years and 298 days and incredibly became Barcelona's youngest ever goalscorer in a senior game just 6 days after his debut. He's also the youngest player to ever score a brace in the La Liga, the youngest player to score and assist in the same La Liga match, and the youngest player to play for Barcelona in the Champions League. This article will detail everything you need to know about the young starlet's background, style of play, statistics and of course, comparisons to Lionel Messi.

Background

Ansu Fati was born into a family of footballers, his dad Bori played in the lower tiers in Portugal whilst two of his brothers also play football. One of these, Braima, happens to be the reason that Ansu moved to Seville, Spain from Guinea-Bissau at the age of 6, after his brother signed for Sevilla. Ansu Fati joined the Barcelona youth academy or 'La Masia' in 2012 at the age of 10, coincidentally the same year that Lionel Messi became Barcelona's top goal-scorer ever at just 24. Is this a sign of things to come? Just a month after signing his first professional contract with Barcelona in 2019, Fati made his senior debut without even playing for the reserve team, Barcelona B, a single time.

Style of play

Fati is primarily a left-winger but can also play down the right flank, currently occupied by Lionel Messi. He's known for his deadly pace that helps him terrorise and toy with defenders. He's very comfortable with the ball at his feet, likes to cut inside and score from pretty much every scenario. He's scored with his head, both feet and from outside the box! His short-passing, tiki-taka, pass-and-move style perfectly complements the traditional playing style of Barcelona and his forward-thinking attitude has led to him being likened to a young Leo Messi.

Statistics

The young winger racked up just over a thousand minutes in La Liga 2019/20, scoring 7 and assisting 1. He took 1.4 shots per game which is decent considering it's similar to what Griezmann achieved and he's primarily a striker. Fati contributed to 0.73 goals per game, double that of Griezmann's at 0.37 per game! Additionally, Ansu's 86% pass accuracy is higher than both Messi and Suarez's. He also contributes 0.8 key passes per game which proves he has exceptional vision especially for a player of his age.

Comparisons with Lionel Messi

Whilst Messi usually plays on the right and Fati prefers the left, he can also play on the right. Fati's 8 La Liga contributions in his debut season is 4x more goals contributed than Messi in his debut senior season. Additionally Messi was over the age of 18 in the next season where he also contributed to 8 senior La Liga goals. Of course, a more trivial similarity is that they both speak Spanish! If Ansu Fati can continue this spectacular trajectory he is on track to eclipse Messi's goal and assists records, look out for him next season, he is 100% one to watch. 

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Kevin @ Football: The Next Generation