Getty Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati celebrate at Barcelona
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati has revealed some of the advice he has received from captain Lionel Messi during his time at the Camp Nou.
The forward, who is currently on his way back from knee surgery, has discussed the Argentine in interviews with Laureus after being nominated for the 2020 Breakthrough of the Year award.
It is a dream to play with the best player in the world and learn from him in training. What advice has he given me? I try to transmit the same humility as he does. Despite all he was done, he is a very simple man, and the advice he gives is always about keeping your feet on the ground.
It was my dream to play for FC Barcelona from the day I arrived here. My aim was always to make the senior team and I worked hard enough to do it. Every child that comes to La Masia has the same goal. I just wanted to get as far as I could.
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Fati Up For Prestigious Award
Fati is up for the Laureus award after a superb breakthrough year with Barcelona where he forced his way into the first team and smashed a host of records along the way.
🙌 Youngest ever goalscorer for @FCBarcelona
🙌 Youngest player to score & assist in same @LaLigaEN match
🙌 Youngest goalscorer in @ChampionsLeague history
🙌 La Liga September 2020 Player of the Month
🌟 @ANSUFATI has been nominated for #Laureus21 Breakthrough of Year Award
The youngster has been nominated alongside Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, MotoGP champion Joan Mir, as well as tennis stars Dominic Thiem, and Iga Swiatek.
The youngster admitted it was “an honor” to be nominated and added that it was something he certainly hadn’t been expecting.
Ansu Talks Up Eric Garcia
Fati has also been asked about who is his best team-mate and went for former Barcelona center-back Eric Garcia. The defender moved to Manchester City in 2017 but is expected to return this summer.
Eric García. We have grown up together from young. We’ve played together and he helped me get better. We was very hard to dribble past, and we’ve been ‘at war’ since we were kids. We’ve played together for Spain too, we were always dreaming as kids.
Garcia is out of contract in the summer and looks set to play alongside Fati next season at Barcelona. City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed Garcia is on his way back to Spain, as reported by Goal.
Eric Garcia is like a son. He was a guy last season that after lockdown was our best central defender. He never made a mistake and played in the quarter-final of the Champions League.
He’s going to play in Barcelona and that is not an average player – he is a top player. He was not selected in the last two games and it broke my heart. That is why it is difficult for all the managers when you have a squad. You cannot imagine what it means.
Fati is part of an impressive crop of youngsters at Barcelona currently who offer the club plenty of hope for the future. Oscar Mingueza, Riqui Puig, and Ilaix Moriba have all come up through the ranks and featured for the first team this season.
Meanwhile, youngsters such as Pedri and Sergino Dest have been brought in and have already become important members of the squad. More experienced players such as Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele are both still only 23.
Fati has been out of action for Barcelona since suffering a knee injury in November that required surgery. The teenager was originally ruled out for four months but has suffered a setback in his recovery and there is no firm date yet for his return.
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Ansu Fati Reveals Advice Messi Has Given Him at Barcelona