Monaco have completed the signing of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of £9.5 million ($12.5m/€11m).
Fati, 23, has agreed a four-year deal until 2030 with Monaco after impressing while on loan with the Ligue 1 side last year.
It brings an end to Fati’s 15-year relationship with Barcelona, where he burst on to the scene as a 16-year-old and was at one point tipped to be the long-term heir to Lionel Messi.
However, a series of unfortunate injuries hindered his progress with the Spanish champions and he will now look to relaunch his career with Monaco.
He is already accustomed to the French league after spending last season at the Principality club, where he scored 12 goals in 30 appearances across all competitions.
Born in Guinea-Bissau, Fati relocated to Sevilla as a child and joined Barça in 2012 when he was just 10 years old.
After racing through the Catalan club’s academy, he made his debut while still just 16 in 2019, scoring eight goals in his debut campaign with the first team.
The following season he suffered a serious knee injury which would end his campaign in November.
Despite that, Barça handed him the No.10 shirt when Messi departed in 2021, but he could never quite recapture the form he displayed pre-injury as a series of niggles disrupted his comeback.
He eventually joined Premier League side Brighton on loan in 2023, but injuries again limited his appearances while in England.
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Fati returned to Barça for the 2024-25 campaign, but could not find a regular spot in Hansi Flick’s team and leaves having scored 29 goals in 123 appearances for the club.
Capped 10 times by Spain — including at the 2022 World Cup — he now has the opportunity revive his fortunes at Monaco.
