Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rejection pays off after £83.5m Man Utd transfer fell through

Manchester United offered a huge £83.5million for Ansu Fati in 2020, it has been claimed, but the forward's injury problems since might make some consider it a bullet dodged.

Fati, a star at Barcelona as a teenager, became the club's youngest ever La Liga scorer when he found the net before his 17th birthday. He ended his first season at Camp Nou with eight goals in all competitions, and would go on to make his senior Spain debut at 17.

United entered the summer of 2020 off the back of a third-place finish, only sealing Champions League qualification on the final day of the season. However, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left frustrated in his pursuit of new signings.

Jadon Sancho was a top target for United that year, but wouldn't arrive from Borussia Dortmund for another 12 months. That led them to look at Fati, but it wasn't to be.

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The £83.5m figure comes from The Athletic, while reports at the time suggested they were prepared to go even higher. Instead, though, Barca were able to fend off interest and tie Fati down to a long-term deal with a mammoth £363m release clause.

“We are enjoying life at Barcelona,” Fati's father Bori told El Larguero at the time. “But my son must be patient for his chances, as he is playing with the greatest footballer ever in Lionel Messi.

“The United links are not true, Ansu is happy here, he is following his dreams. He does not have to start every game, and he has Griezmann and Suarez ahead of him. Ansu has a lot of time.”

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United left it late to do their business in 2020, sealing deadline day deals for Alex Telles, Edinson Cavani and Facundo Pellistri. Amad also signed at the end of the window, though he didn't join until January 2021.

Fati started the next season in fine form, scoring five times in 10 games for Barcelona and bagging his first senior Spain goal in a win against Ukraine. However, his injury woes began in November 2020 with a torn meniscus ending his season.

Another long-term injury limited his involvement the following season, and his form since returning in May 2022 hasn't been as breathtaking as what he showed at the start of his career. A contract extension arrived in 2022, but he spent last season on loan at Brighton where a calf injury stopped his progress just as he was getting started.

With Hansi Flick taking over at Barcelona this summer, Fati had a chance for a fresh start. This has had to wait, though, with a foot injury in pre-season keeping him out of action until the Champions League opener at Monaco, when a sub appearance represented his first competitive Barca minutes in over a year.

“I’ve spoken to him and he sees himself more in the left wing position but he has great qualities to play centrally as well," Flick said (as translated by Football Espana). “I saw him very different in July and brilliant in training. Now he needs time and we have to look after him.”

More than four years on, Ansu Fati is far from the young man who Manchester United viewed as an £83.5m player. He's still just 21, though, and time is on his side as he aims to build back up after a tough few years.

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