Bori Fati may just have made his son’s life a tad more difficult at Barcelona, with his recent interview with COPE.
When you are struggling to make a lasting impact on the pitch playing for a club as big as FC Barcelona, the last thing you want is off-field distractions. Barcelona number 10 and ‘prodigy’, Fati, has struggled for regular game time this season under Xavi Hernandez.
What has not helped his cause is the fact that the Blaugrana are 12 points clear at the top in La Liga. This has of course, prompted Xavi to stick to a winning combination.
For the ones who are still in the dark about the explosive and snarky comments made by Fati’s father toward Xavi and FC Barcelona just know that the rest of the season is just going to get tougher for Fati to return to his best.
Bori Fati, speaking to Cope on the Spanish radio, whilst Fati was reportedly asleep, called into question Barcelona’s treatment of his son and Xavi for not playing him enough. He accused the Blaugrana of treating Fati improperly and forcing him to play through injury. Bori Fati also revealed that he wants to see his son leave Barcelona but confirmed that the club wants to keep him despite rumours of a summer exit for the left-winger.
As a Barça fan, I am angered by the comments made by Bori Fati. The ex-footballer also teased about a potential switch to Real Madrid in the future, angering many culers in the process, and rightly so.
We all want to see Fati succeed at Barça and the club has been extremely patient with him despite his injury issues over the last 12 months. When he first broke into the scene as a 16-year-old with an eye for goal, it looked like he was here to stay for a long time.
But, injuries have hampered his development and it is only natural that he is not at his confident best after a lengthy lay off. It is only common sense that the player and his camp must remain patient and it is unfair on anyone to call Xavi’s selection into question, given the circumstances. Xavi will only do what he feels is right for the club and it is simply because no one bigger than the club. You impress and you play but if you don’t, you must wait until another opportunity is handed to you or better, break down the door.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona’s former number 10 and the greatest player the world has ever seen was shown the ex. While it is also true that the pressure on Fati would be enormous, having inherited Messi’s shirt number, it is fair to expect him and his camp to show respect for that number. Bori Fati could not have been more wrong with his comments. As a father, it is within his rights to feel the way he currently does about Barcelona and Xavi but when you are also a crucial member of your son’s entourage, it was a pretty ludicrous interview given by him.
When things don’t always go your way in football, it is best to play a team game. For a club like Barça, even playing a minute or two every game must be considered as a great honor and as much as we love Fati, if he cannot think about the team’s best interests, it would be better if he left this summer.
Luckily for us, Bori Fati also confirmed that his son is determined to work hard and succeed at Spotify Camp Nou and almost every Barça fan will be praying for that to happen, sooner rather than later.
Moreover, it is not like Fati has not been preferred at all this season. The left-winger has managed to register 10 starts while playing over 1000 minutes this term. Therefore, it is fair to conclude that he has been given ample chances to prove his case. But the sad reality is that goals win you games and not moments of fleeting brilliance, as has been the case with him this season.
Mundo Deportivo has claimed that Fati is not happy by the comments made by his father without his consent, and as a La Masía product, it is unwise to think that perhaps the 20-year-old feels the same way about Barça as his father does.
Next season promises to be a fresh start for Fati who will look to make the most of his limited opportunities until the end of the season, starting this Saturday.
With Ousmane Dembele injured and Raphinha suspended, Fati is most likely to get a start and the international break probably came at the right time for him as well.
It is important that our number 10 trusts the process and takes it one game at a time. In the end, good things happen to those who wait.
