Guardiola gives verdict on Man City's win over Burnley
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly one of those monitoring the situation of Barcelona youngster Ansu Fati, a player who is on plenty of radars with his contract due to expire at the end of the season. Guardiola and City chief Txiki Begiristain have already discussed the possibility of swooping for the winger, although the threat of a new deal at Barcelona is now looming.
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He allegedly instructed Begiristain to steer clear of negotiations in fear of hurting Barca, Guardiola’s former club.
Guardiola and the Catalan side understandably maintain a healthy working relationship, and negotiating with Fati would have damaged the club in a number of ways.
For one, taking a youngster touted as their ‘future’ would leave them in a sticky situation, while negotiations with another club could also have helped him to land a more lucrative contract.
High wages are not what Barca want to be dealing with at present, given they still harbour debts of over £1billion.
Ansu Fati has taken Barcelona by storm since making his debut as a 16-year-old (Image: GETTY)
The same financial woes forced Messi’s departure this summer, a tearful event which the club are still attempting to recover from.
City fans must be somewhat annoyed that they reportedly passed up the opportunity to snap up a potentially generational talent.
With a new deal on the cards at the Camp Nou, that ship is close to having officially sailed.
Barca recently tied fellow youngster Pedri down to a new deal which contained an almost £1bn release clause.
One would suspect a similar fee to be in the pipeline for Fati, and although City are backed by wealthy owners, it is fair to say that such a price tag would be a bridge too far.