Lamine Yamal is rumored to be inheriting Barcelona's No. 10 shirt, one of the most iconic shirt/number combos in the sport. However, there's one major thing that needs to happen before the rumors can become a reality—something has to be done regarding the current owner of the shirt: Ansu Fati.
Not so long ago, Fati erupted onto the world's stage as a highly regarded teenage La Masia graduate, himself, poised to lead Barcelona's new generation. Following the departure of Lionel Messi, Fati inherited the iconic Blaugrana No. 10 shirt ahead of the 2021–22 season.
Injuries unfortunately became synonymous with Fati's career. A meniscus injury forced him to miss 305 days during the 2020–21 season. Once he returned, muscular injuries hindered him for much of the next season and he never managed to return to his pre-injury level. Barcelona would send him on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion for the 2023–24 season.
Fati returned to Barcelona this term and continued to wear the iconic shirt, but he found little success under new manager Hansi Flick. The 22-year-old played just 298 minutes across 11 appearances in all competitions with only one game to go in the season. In fact, Flick left him out of the matchday squad on 12 occasions, one more than the number of matches he featured in.
Yamal, on the other hand, had a brilliant season and was key to Barcelona conquering a domestic treble. The teenager is already considered one of the best players in the world and could very well become the youngest player ever to win the Ballon d'Or award come September.
It's no secret that Barcelona are ready to sign Yamal to a contract extension as soon as he turns 18-years-old this summer. The unconfirmed rumor is the club also wants to reward him with the aforementioned shirt number. For this to happen, something must be done about Fati's situation.
There's still two years left on Fati's current contract and he's reportedly set to make €12 million ($13.5 million) in 2025–26 and €14 million ($15.7 million) in 2026–27, the third highest salary on Barcelona's books behind Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong.
A MARCA report indicates Barcelona will give Fati the freedom to search for a new home during the summer transfer window with the club keen on his departure considering he's not part of Flick's plans. Fati's departure would also make it easy for Yamal to inherit the new shirt number.
Fati's been reluctant to leave Barcelona in past transfer windows. Should the trend continue this summer, then Barcelona could be forced to strip him of his shirt number as the final alternative to ensure Yamal receives a new number.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as What Has to Happen Before Lamine Yamal Gets Barcelona's No. 10 Shirt.
