The latest entrant to the list of teenage sensation is the 16 year-old Ansu Fati. His recent promotion the Barça first team has attracted many valuable eyes towards him.
So much so that he has become a hot prospect in Spain at the moment. However, as Sport reports, he is yet to decide on his international future. He has to choose between either of Portugal and Spain.
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Ansu was born in Portugal but moved to Spain at a young age of 6. Playing for Spain would mean acquiring a permanent Spanish citizenship and the first step in achieving that would be his father getting a passport. That should not be an issue as he has already crossed the minimum number of years required to reside in the country in order to obtain the passport.
As far as Ansu is concerned, he does not seem to have any doubts and has made up his mind about representing Spain at the International level. It is clear that he wants to play alongside his friends in the International arena as well. As far the process is concerned, he has already informed Barça of his decision so that Guillermo Amor could inform the RFEF about the same.
As far as the U17 World Cup is concerned, it commences on the 26th of this month and will go on till the 17th of November 2019. It is quite natural that Spain would want Fati in their squad and the RFEF is doing everything they can to speed up the procedure of getting a Spanish passport for Ansu. Being eligible for the national team selection would mean that he could get to play alongside his fellow mates in Jose Martínez and Ilaix Moriba.
Portugal on the other hand, haven’t given up on their hopes of acquiring the services of the youngster and have informed Ansu and his father that they will do everything in their power to obtain the 16 year-old’s talent. It has to be bourne in mind that Fati hasn’t played for any particular country till date.
It is clear that Fati is in a race against time and one will most likely see him play for Spain in the future but his goal is to be available for National selection at the earliest and that included making himself available for the U-17 World Cup in Brazil. Ansu Fati is a huge prospect for Barça and could take the mantle from Messi in the future. But for now, all he needs to do is focus on his football.