FC Barcelona on Tuesday extended the contract of striker Ansu Fati before loaning him to Monaco for the forthcoming season.

Ansu Fati (L) of Barcelona vies with Sergi Gomez of Espanyol during the Spanish La Liga football match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 3, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)

The 22-year-old has extended his stay at Barcelona until the end of June 2028, although the loan deal to Monaco offers the French side the option to make the move permanent at the end of the season for around 11 million euros.

Fati burst into the Barca first team in 2019, when he became the second youngest player to debut for the club after 16 years and 298 days. However, after a brilliant start to his career, which led to the inevitable 'Leo Messi' comparisons, he tore his meniscus ligament in October 2020 and complications saw him need four operations, with an expected four-month recovery extending to almost 11 months.

Fati was then plagued by a series of muscle problems and Barcelona decided to loan him to Brighton in the Premier League for the 2023-24 season only for injury to again limit him to less than 1,000 minutes action.

He was in the Barca first team squad last season, but Barca coach Hansi Flick rarely used him.