Ansu Fati's watch

Previous Direct

Ansu Fati in front of Upamecano and Kimmich, in the match between Bayern and Barcelona. RONALD WITTEK (EFE)

There are no longer concessions or demands with Ansu Fati in the national team and in Barcelona.

The Barça international player has not been called up by Luis Enrique for the matches that Spain will play on Saturday against Switzerland and on Tuesday against Portugal after he was recruited in the previous June call and did not play a single minute in the Nations League.

The striker's last performance dates back to June 2000 against Ukraine.

"Hopefully he recovers his level, but today I don't see him to be on the list," argued Luis Enrique.

"I was the first to call him to see how he was when he didn't even play for his club," continued the coach.

"We have high expectations and we hope that he will achieve it", he stressed with a view to the next appointment that will be definitive for the World Cup in Qatar.

Nor is he a starter with Barça.

Last Tuesday he went out to the Allianz Arena when there were only ten minutes left before the end of the game and after Ferran Torres had already done so when the azulgrana lost 2-0 against Bayern.

Ansu has not had the continuity announced on August 21 at Anoeta.

Barcelona won 4-1 with two assists and a goal from the attacker born in Bissau after substituting Ferran (minute 62).

“He's fine, the injuries are forgotten and I'm happy with him”, argued Xavi this Friday.

“But it's costing him, although maybe it's my fault.

We have a plan.

He will go in and increase the pace.

It is difficult to manage, it requires prudence”, stressed the Barcelona coach.

He is not yet a player of games but of moments since he rejoined before his teammates last preseason: he has played 119 minutes in the League in five League games, 26%, and has scored two goals in addition to giving two assists while that in the Champions League he has played 75 minutes in the matches against Viktoria Plzen and Bayern.

Xavi manages the player's efforts based on physical parameters that are still far from those that presided over his debut at the age of 16 on August 5, 2019.

Ansu Fati took more than 11 months to reappear after suffering a torn internal meniscus in his right leg on November 7, 2020 against Betis.

Not only was he subjected to four interventions, the last after mediating his agent Jorge Mendes, but there was also a discussion about whether his recovery had been forced due to Barça's sports needs.

The second injury, which occurred last January at San Mamés, also generated serious controversy because the striker ruled out undergoing surgery for the rupture of the proximal tendon of the femoral biceps of his left leg against the recommendation of the Barcelona doctors.

Ansu opted for a conservative treatment instead of following in Dembélé's footsteps.

Ansu needs to recover the speed and electricity that allowed him to exhibit himself as the winger who broke the records of precocity in the League and the Champions League as a Barça player.

It is not only a physical issue but also a psychological one that requires, therefore, confidence and security in the new Barça framework: it is not necessary to risk for the good of the attacker and because competition has also increased with the signings of Lewandowski and Raphinha.

The pressure on Ansu has decreased to the same extent that it is convenient to prevent him from becoming demoralized due to the lack of minutes in the national team and in Barça.

Playing this Saturday against Elche (16.15, Camp Nou) can help lift his and Ferran Torres' spirits.

Xavi repeats in each game that the intensity is non-negotiable, a factor that forces Ansu to manage minutes after he already assumed responsibility at a critical moment for Barça in October last year, when he renewed until 2027 with a termination clause billion and carried the weight of Messi's number 10 shirt.

The possibility of entering the next list of the national team and competing in the World Cup necessarily involves gaining presence in Barcelona.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on