Manchester United reportedly made a £84m offer to sign Barcelona academy product Ansu Fati in the 2020 summer transfer window.
Manchester United reportedly offered around £84m to sign Barcelona forward Ansu Fati in 2020.
Fati broke into the Barcelona first-team set-up as a 16-year-old, making his senior debut in a 5-2 win over Real Betis in 2019-20.
The youngster went on to make 33 appearances during the 2019-20 campaign, scoring eight goals and providing one assist.
The Barcelona academy product was on an upward trajectory until he sustained a serious knee injury in November 2020.
Fati subsequently missed over 300 days of action and has continued to struggle with persistent injury issues over the last few years.
© Reuters
Man United ‘offered’ £84m to sign Fati in 2020
The attacker was sent out on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion last time with the hope that he could get his career back on track.
However, Fati missed a number of games through injury and mustered just four goals and one assist in 27 competitive matches.
While Fati may have spent the 2023-24 season in England, Man United were supposedly keen to bring him to the Premier League back in 2020.
According to The Athletic, Man United submitted a €100m (£84m) bid to sign Fati following his breakout season in 2019-20.
Then manager Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer was keen to sign the highly-rated youngster, but Barcelona ultimately rejected Man United’s approach.
© Imago
Fati still has time to realise his true potential
Fati has remained with Barcelona for the 2024-25 season after Hansi Flick indicated that the forward is part of his plans.
The attacker missed the start of the season through injury, but he returned to the first-team fold for a recent Champions League match against Monaco.
After featuring in the closing stages of the 2-1 defeat, Fati has had to settle for being an unused substitute in Barcelona’s last two league games.
Fati will hope to get regular game time as the season progresses because at the age of 21, he still has the time to realise his potential if he can remain fit for an extended period.