At the last moment and after a sudden change of mind, Ansu Fati leaves Barcelona to join Brighton, a modern and ambitious club guided by one of world football’s boldest coaches, Italian Roberto De Zerbi. He convinced the youngster with a few phone calls. It is reported that around 80 percent of his salary will be covered by the English club, with the remainder paid by Barcelona.
Just two years earlier, Barça awarded him the number 10, a gesture that accompanied Messi’s forced departure to Paris Saint-Germain. Weeks ago, coach Xavi hailed him as “the club’s present and future legacy.” Yet those words do not guarantee a secure future, because the facts on the ground can diverge from proclamations (the 20-year-old talent believes in his own path).
He is leaving Barça because he feels like the last frontline option on the squad, or nearly so. He moves to Brighton because he senses he has little to gain where he is and because a younger phenomenon is rising. A new generation is emerging. The 16-year-old who once idolized Ansu now appears as a contemporary parallel. Modern football has its own rapid cycles. When Barça showed interest, he seemed to ascend; when he drew attention away from the club, his trajectory changed. He faced moments with players like Dembele, and the door to new opportunities opened as others departed, including Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix.
Although Ansu did not wish to leave Barcelona at the start of this bustling transfer window, on the penultimate day of the period he packed his bags and set off toward Brighton, a club known for cultivating young talents and selling them on to the Premier League’s top sides.
In De Zerbi’s bunker
De Zerbi has accumulated tactical sophistication and a willingness to push England’s elite with a fearless style of play—he will compete in Europe’s competitions, and Ansu might find a role in a system that often uses Kaoru Mitoma as a dynamic winger. The plan could place Ansu as a second striker in a 4-2-3-1, or as a deceptive number nine, a role that could be in the hands of the former Barça player.
There, Barça’s legacy figure is being left behind. The player who endured injuries and the club’s varying patience faced a different reality away from the Barcelona halls. The emotional weight of carrying that legacy wore on him, yet he accepted the responsibility when the club asked him to wear the shirt’s famous number, a badge that once mirrored Messi’s brilliance.
The decision also aligned with the club’s broader strategy, a willingness to pursue a structural project in England that could involve new faces like Cancelo and Joao Félix on loan. All three players are represented by the same agency, which underscored broadening connections within the market.
“This is Barça, this is not an NGO,” Xavi said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo in early June, when asked about the team’s continuity. It was a moment before the market had fully opened. By August, Ansu had decided to chase minutes in southern England, hoping to rediscover the form that had eluded him in recent seasons. He travels to find the best version of himself.
Three league appearances in the 23-24 season, three substitutions in a row. In Getafe he played 11 minutes off the bench, against Cádiz 21 minutes at Montjuïc, and in La Cerámica versus Villarreal he logged 14 minutes as a substitute. Even Raphinha’s suspension couldn’t rescue him from the bench, as the coach had other plans. The situation, once a footnote, became a defining moment as Ansu weighed the advice of his closest circle, including his father and his family, against the club’s long-term needs. It opened the door for possibilities involving Cancelo and Joao Félix on loan, with Mendes representing all three players.
As June arrived, with the transfer window barely starting, Xavi’s stance remained pointed. The manager’s comments reflected a pragmatic view of Barça’s direction and its ability to stay competitive in a shifting market. By August, the decision had shifted toward a south-of-England move in search of the minutes he believed would shape his next chapter. Ansu traveled to pursue the best version of himself, a personal rebuild that could redefine his career in a new league and culture.