Barcelona winger chose La Masia over Real Madrid’s academy due to its ‘protective enviroment’

La Masia has produced several young jewels in recent years. Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez are just some of the names to have graduated from the glorious academy.

The recent surge in its stocks, however, began with the rise of Ansu Fati.

The youngster broke record after record for the club and even inherited Lionel Messi’s iconic number 10 during his time with the first team. Unfortunately, injuries were not kind to him, and he had to leave on loan to Brighton and Hove Albion in the hopes of regaining his form.

Fati could have joined Real Madrid

Fati began his football dream with local club Herrera and subsequently joined Sevilla’s youth team for his initial development. In 2012, he joined La Masia at the tender age of 10 and soon caught the eye of the club’s hierarchy.

According to reports from Guillem Balague, however, the Catalan academy was not Fati’s only choice eleven years ago.

The player has the chance to sign for either Barcelona’s La Masia or Real Madrid’s Castilla. In the end, he opted for the Catalan institution owing to its ‘protective environment’.

After all, the Madrid-based academy is no stranger to controversy. Just last month, three youth players from the Real Madrid academy were arrested for sharing obscene videos of a minor.

Slow start to life in England

Ansu Fati opted to move to Brighton after reassurance of a regular role by the manager Roberto de Zerbi. Yet, his initial weeks at the club have been far from that.

The youngster averages just under 40 minutes per game in his opening three Premier League appearances. In that duration, he has scored one goal and averages 2.7 shots per game.

With his future at the Catalan capital riding on his stint in England, it remains to be seen how Fati fares under the pressure.