This has been labelled a make-or-break week for Barca, with the side languishing in mid-table in La Liga, bottom of their Champions League group and forever in financial jeopardy.
But it was the best start possible as they beat Valencia 3-1 at the Nou Camp, with Ansu Fati at his brilliant best.
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Ronald Koeman´s men host Dynamo Kiev in midweek, winless so far in the Champions League after consecutive 3-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica.
They then go up against rivals Real Madrid in El Classico next Sunday.
But with the first hurdle out of the way, we caught up with Eurosport Spain´s Felix Martin in the middle of Barca´s biggest week, and to get the latest on the brilliant Fati and a potential new contract.
Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
Image credit: Getty Images
Is this week make or break for Barcelona?
I’m not sure whether anything changed against Valencia, but it is obvious that Barça had three huge games this week. The first one was yesterday against Valencia, a very uncomfortable team to play against, and then on Wednesday against Dynamo Kiev, where their future will most likely be decided in the Champions League. And, finally, El Clásico next Sunday .
Is Fati already Barcelona’s most important player?
Barça desperately needed a leader to show up and carry the team. And Fati’s recovery is definitely great news for the club. He’s quite an electric player – he is great when in one-on-one situations and a great dribbler. He has shown, at 18, after suffering severe injury and complications to his knee, that he’s ready to be Barça’s leader for the next 10 years. Ansu Fati and Pedri should be the two main pillars around which Barça should build their next sporting project.
Will he sign a new contract after negotiations stalled?
The contract extension hasn’t been signed yet. From my point of view Barça’s approach with Fati was mistaken when they gave him the number 10 (which is obviously a huge number in their history). It would have been better had Barça offered him a big contract extension AND the number 10, which would have confirmed him as the new team leader. This would have been a better approach given that Barça probably won’t be able to give him a lot of money (this is just my opinion).
Also, Jorge Mendes is his agent, and although Ansu seems happy to stay in Barcelona, Mendes will probably try to get him as much money as possible.
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