Ansu Fati to don the iconic No.10 jersey for FC Barcelona after Lionel Messi's transfer

FC Barcelona on Wednesday announced that their forward Ansu Fati will now don the iconic No. 10 jersey for the team, after previously wearing the No. 22 jersey for a season. The shirt No. had become vacant after their former captain Lionel Messi left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

Barcelona shared the news on Twitter with an image that showed the 18-year-old wearing the No.10 jersey. The clip was followed by a caption that read, “Our new number 10. Made in La Masia”. The new shirt will be worn by the youngster for the 2021-22 season.

Previously, Philippe Coutinho was rumoured to be a possible replacement for Lionel Messi's No.10, but the Brazilian midfielder, who returned to a matchday squad after a long-term injury, chose his favoured No.14. After Coutinho chose his favoured No., Pedri, who plays for Barca as a central midfielder was rumoured to wear the iconic jersey. But the odds went in favour of Fati as he will be donning the jersey from his next match.

During his tenure at the club, Messi's name became associated with the number 10 shirt, as he wrote history while wearing the famous number, which was his since 2008. With Messi's departure, many Barcelona fans demanded that the famous number 10 shirt be retired. However, owing to restrictions imposed by the Spanish Football Federation, the team was compelled to keep the number 10 shirt. Before Messi, the shirt was worn by other legendary players of the club like Ronaldinho and Rivaldo.

Ansu Fati’s career with FC Barcelona so far

Since his debut in August 2019, Ansu Fati has set several league and Champions League records. He scored in the league just six days after his debut making him the youngest ever goalscorer for FC Barcelona in La Liga.

After an excellent start to the season, which saw him score five goals in his first 10 appearances, a knee injury put a hold on his career. However, Ansu Fati returned to training on 24th August with his teammates, after nine months away from the training pitch and undergoing surgery three times.

Image credits: AP