Ansu Fati not looking for ‘revenge’ at AS Monaco

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has completed his first press duties as an AS Monaco player, after joining the principality side on loan this summer. Fati, 22, is hoping to get his career back on track, after several years sidelined by injury and competition.

Fati left Barcelona frustrated by his lack of football under Hansi Flick, but said that joining AS Monaco was motivated by the desire to enjoy his football again.

“No revenge here: I’m here to enjoy football, a game I haven’t had the chance to play in a while. I’m here to enjoy, contribute my best, and hopefully we can do great things. Returning to the national team? That will depend on my performance,” he told Sport.

He did spend a year on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion on loan too, but struggled for minutes at the Amex as well. Despite that, Fati explained that he had enjoyed his loan spell in the Premier League.

“Honestly, I think the changes are for the better. Of course, I’ll be here this season, but I’ll always be grateful to Barça. I had my experience at Brighton: many think it was bad, but it was a great experience. I started well, then I got injured and didn’t have any continuity. Hopefully, things will be different here, and I can have continuity and be involved a lot if the manager sees it that way.”

Fati has been keen to emphasize this season that he is well physically, and has not lingering fitness issues.

Physically, I’m very well. I finished the season training hard, so I feel good.”

Yet he seemed less certain when asked whether the mental side of the game, and coming back from injury, had left him struggling for confidence.

“Well, I don’t know. I try to be as good as possible, and I believe in God… In the end, what happens to me is something I can’t control, but I can minimise the risks, and that’s what I do. I try to work as hard as possible to be as good as possible, and even if things don’t work out, I keep fighting, and I’m sure I’ll find my moment again and enjoy this again.”

Barcelona extended Fati’s deal until 2028 before the loan move, which in part will reduce his impact on their salary limit. Although Monaco have an €11m buy option on Fati, there appears to be a desire to maintain control over Fati’s future. No doubt Barcelona would loathe to see themselves miss out on Fati if he did get back to his best – or miss out on a large transfer fee.