Barca Chief Would Have To 'Go In Hiding' If $189M Foward Is Sold To Manchester United, Reveals Club Source: Report

A source at FC Barcelona has reportedly revealed that club president Josep Bartomeu will “have to go into hiding” if 17-year-old forward Ansu Fati ends up moving to Manchester United this summer.

Man Utd, who are looking to strengthen their squad for next season, have shown interest in the talented Fati in recent weeks. It is understood that their bid of $169 million has been rejected by Barcelona, who are demanding the Premier League side to meet the player’s full release clause of $189 million, as reported by Daily Star.

Barcelona could be looking at sell Fati to fund Neymar’s return to Nou Camp. However, a report in ESPN has revealed that there could be a backlash even if the club considered selling the 21-year-old Spanish soccer player.

“There has been an interest in Ansu for a while from many clubs. Even Real Madrid were monitoring him before he renewed his contract,” the source told ESPN.

“It is not news to us that clubs are asking about him, but Barca will not sell. Ansu is the future of the club and if he was sold, Bartomeu may even have to go into hiding!” the source added.

The report has further added that another source has informed the sports outlet that even if Barcelona lack funds currently, “you can ignore the speculation [Fati’s transfer] regardless of the amount Barcelona would get by trading the player at the upcoming transfer window."

Fati, who scored earlier this week in Barca’s La Liga 2-0 win over Leganes, has been asked to be more consistent by boss Quique Setien. After playing for Seville’s youth teams, Fati moved to Barcelona and made his first-team debut earlier this season as a Barca player. He has scored six goals in 25 appearances for the senior team including five in La Liga, where Barca are five points clear at the top of the table.