On 31 August 2019, at El Sadar, a 16-year-old headed in FC Barcelona’s equaliser against Osasuna in a 2-2 draw. He was Anssumane Fati, known as Ansu Fati, and the goal made him the youngest player in the club’s history to score in La Liga, at 16 years and 304 days old. A forward born on 31 October 2002 in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, he came through La Masia and joined AS Monaco on a permanent basis in 2026.
From Herrera to La Masia
His family moved to Spain when he was six, and he grew up in Herrera, a small town in the province of Seville. He played for Escuela Peloteros Sierra Sur and CDF Herrera before Sevilla FC brought him into their academy in 2010. Two years later, in 2012, he moved to Barcelona to join the club’s youth system. He climbed through the age groups, reaching the Under-19 side in 2018 and the reserve team in December 2019, by which point he was already playing for the first team.
An early debut at Camp Nou
Ernesto Valverde handed him his debut on 25 August 2019 in a 5-2 win over Real Betis, when he was 16 years and 298 days old. Six days later came the goal in Pamplona, and that September he was granted Spanish nationality. On 10 December 2019 he scored the winner against Inter at San Siro and became the youngest scorer in Champions League history, at 17 years and 40 days old. In September 2020 he was officially promoted to the senior squad, wearing the number 22.
The knee injury and the number 10
On 7 November 2020, against Betis, he tore the meniscus in his left knee. Several operations and almost eleven months out followed; Barcelona won the 2021 Copa del Rey that season without him on the pitch. On 1 September 2021, after Lionel Messi left for PSG, the club gave him the number 10 shirt. He returned on 26 September 2021 against Levante and scored in a 3-0 win. Recurring muscle problems held him back over the following years, though he was part of the squad that won the Spanish Super Cup and the league title in 2023.
Loan at Brighton
On 1 September 2023 he joined Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan. He made his debut on 16 September 2023 in a win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and before the end of that month he scored his first goal in England, in a defeat to Aston Villa. He finished the 2023-24 campaign with four goals, again hampered by injuries. He went back to Barcelona in the summer of 2024 and made 11 appearances in 2024-25, a campaign in which the team won the league, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Spain national team
Luis Enrique called him up at 17. He made his senior debut for Spain on 3 September 2020 against Germany in the Nations League, and three days later, on 6 September, he scored in a 4-0 win over Ukraine at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium. At 17 years and 311 days old he became the youngest scorer in Spain’s history. He was selected for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he played twice without scoring, and in 2023 he was part of the squad that won the Nations League.
Monaco
In July 2025 Barcelona loaned him to AS Monaco with an option to buy. He made his debut on 18 September 2025 in the Champions League against Club Brugge and scored in that game. Three days later, on his Ligue 1 debut, he found the net after 37 seconds and went on to score twice in a 5-2 win over Metz. He ended the 2025-26 campaign with 12 goals in 30 matches, the team’s second-highest scorer. He is a forward who starts from the left, quick over the first few metres and a good header of the ball for his height. On 30 June 2026 Monaco exercised the purchase option and Ansu Fati became a Monaco player on a permanent basis, with Barcelona keeping a percentage of any future sale.
Monaco