Ansu Fati took off his bib, threw it to the ground and headed straight for the second row on the bench, kicking a few empty seats on the way for good measure.
There were only a few minutes left of the game against Celta Vigo on Saturday but, despite a lengthy warm up on the touchline, he was not going to come on — as has happened so many times before. Fati’s disappointment was laid bare.
He was not the only one to be left disgruntled at the weekend. Hector Fort asked to speak to Hansi Flick after the match, and Ferran Torres showed his anger at being taken off in the second half of a game Barcelona eventually won 4-3 in the eighth minute of added time. That speaks to the high level of competition within the team.
“I can understand that the players are unhappy and dissatisfied — I was a professional player myself and I understand them,” Flick said at his press conference ahead of the match against RCD Mallorca two days later. “But I don’t understand the reaction. It’s a situation you have to accept.
“Against Celta Vigo it was a great comeback after going behind. And we made the right decisions. We want to see a good reaction from the players, not what happened afterwards (on Saturday).”
Flick was unimpressed by his players’ complaints after the Celta Vigo win (David Ramos/Getty Images)
That was then.
Three days later, Fati, Fort and Torres were all in the starting lineup against Mallorca. Flick was effectively throwing the gauntlet down to them all, challenging the trio to show they merit more game time after their protestations. And one, in particular, seized his rare opportunity.
Fati arrived at Montjuic on Tuesday night carrying a red rose to celebrate Saint George’s Day (Sant Jordi), Catalonia’s Day of Books and Roses. He smiled for the cameras. Having started only once previously all season, and not even played in La Liga since mid November, this was finally going to be his day again.
There was an urgency about his performance from the outset.
Fati and Fort offered energy and intensity up Barcelona’s left flank, with the former pinging an attempt wide eight minutes before the interval and, as half-time approached, another shot beyond the post after a delicate pass from Pedri. Mallorca’s goalkeeper, Leo Roman, denied him the reward his performance merited in the second half with a good save.
When the fourth official’s board went up a little after the hour-mark, summoning Fati from the fray to be replaced by Raphinha, the majority inside the stadium rose to salute his contribution.
They had gasped at his every touch whenever he wriggled into dangerous areas. The ovation afforded him on his departure was deafening.
Asked post-match if his 62-minute contribution had represented a step forward for Fati, Flick said: “I think so. And you can see that his team-mates are supporting him, and the fans are too. It’s been a very good day for him. It will help him regain his confidence and believe in himself more.”
Fati had been waiting for an opportunity like this.
The 22-year-old is enduring one of his most difficult seasons at Barcelona having now played only 253 minutes across 10 games in all competitions. His only previous start was against Sevilla on October 20. A four-minute cameo against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final represented his only football since the first week of January. There was a three-month period when, despite being fit, he was not even included in a matchday squad.
Against Dortmund, he chose to pass the ball to Raphinha when in front of goal and with Barcelona already 4-0 up where, had he been confident, Fati would normally have finished himself. The Brazilian ended up missing. Sources close to the player, who, like all consulted for this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, suggested to The Athletic that so many months without playing inevitably took their toll.
Flick instructs Fati before introducing him late on against Dortmund earlier this month (David Ramos/Getty Images)
And to think that Flick had been impressed with what he had initially seen of Fati in pre-season following his return to the club from last year’s loan spell at Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
The hope was the forward would convince his new coach over the summer and regain the prominence he had once enjoyed at Barca. Instead, he injured the sole of his right foot in training just before the squad departed for their pre-season tour, missed the trip and was ruled out for the start of the league campaign.
There was be a thigh injury in November, too, which kept him out for a month. He returned in mid-December and was expected to start the Copa del Rey fixture against UD Barbastro of the Spanish fourth tier on January 4, with Flick rotating his squad ahead of the Spanish Super Cup, to be played a few days later in Saudi Arabia.
As it was, he began that game on the bench and was only given 28 minutes to impress, a situation that clearly left him upset. He watched the semi-finals and final of the Spanish Super Cup from the stands. He was not selected at all for the Copa del Rey round of 16 tie against Real Betis. In the weeks that followed, if he travelled with the team, he did not play.
At best, he warmed up on the touchline.
Fati takes up his all-too-familiar place on the bench against Rayo Vallecano in February (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Sources close to the player were left baffled at his lack of game time. They pointed to the fact Fati was one of the few players who generated some excitement at the club in the two seasons after Lionel Messi’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain. The player had been reluctant to accept the No 10 shirt given what it had come to represent, but the club asked him to take it on.
Now he was effectively an outcast; a fringe player with no obvious route back into the team.
If that brief appearance against Dortmund had suggested he might be on the brink of returning to contention, then his reaction on the bench against Celta Vigo was frustration boiling over.
He has attempted to stay focused. He has voluntarily done double training sessions on several occasions to maintain his fitness in the hope an opportunity might arise, frequenting the club gym in the afternoons. He has even visited the training ground on days off.
Fati feels strong physically. There is a recognition that infiltrating a front three of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski is no easy task, and that Flick’s instincts will not be to change things. He acknowledges, too, that even with Lewandowski injured at present, Torres is next in line to replace him and is bolstered by solid numbers this season.
Fort and Fati made a positive impression on Barcelona’s left flank against Mallorca (Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Flick has spoken with him on several occasions and outlined his plans. Fati is patient and still feels at home at the club — there is no desire to leave Barcelona, despite the club’s willingness to loan him out.
There was interest from clubs in Turkey and Portugal — mainly Porto — and Sevilla came close to signing him in January. But the thought of potentially lining up against Barcelona, the club he joined when he was 10, did not sit easily with him.
He is still very young and retains the backing of his team-mates. He is close to Yamal, Alejandro Balde and Gavi. He also feels very loved by the supporters. In recent months, every time he has warmed up on the sidelines at Montjuic, the fans have sung songs for him. That gave him hope when everything looked bleak.
Many have faith that the player who gave this club light in the post-Messi gloom will return to his best. The start against Mallorca reaffirmed that. There is a player there still; now it is up to Fati to seize every opportunity that comes his way.
(Top photo: Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)