Revealed: Manchester United was interested in Ansu Fati while in Cristiano Ronaldo talks

Revealed: Manchester United was interested in Ansu Fati while in Cristiano Ronaldo talks

Manchester United asked super-agent Jorge Mendes about the availability of Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati while locked in talks over Cristiano Ronaldo's return this summer, according to reports.

United was able to seal a sensational deal to bring back Ronaldo after 12 years, following his decision to leave Juventus, and the veteran has enjoyed a superb impact, having scored three goals already.

But, as claimed by Mundo Deportivo, the club may have had their sights set on bringing in another forward before the recent window closed, having made an enquiry about teenage sensation Fati.

The 18-year-old has just one year left on his contract at the Nou Camp, and it is thought that Mendes, also his representative, offered him around to a host of top clubs across Europe, including Manchester City.

Attracting understandable interest, Fati was also asked about by United, who broached the idea of potentially signing him next summer. However, Barcelona are confident their wonderkid will pen a new deal.

Mendes has been the agent of Ronaldo for over 18 years and, such is his lofty reputation, also deals with Jose Mourinho, David de Gea and Ruben Dias. He holds a good relationship with the hierarchy at United.

But even this would have been unlikely to convince Mendes and Barcelona to broker a deal to send Fati to Old Trafford, because the tricky forward, who is also an academy graduate, is viewed as being the future in Catalonia.

After Lionel Messi's shock departure and Antoine Griezmann returned to Atletico Madrid, the pressure is on Fati more than ever to step up and perform. He has also been awarded Messi's hallowed former No 10 jersey.

United are believed to have been keen on snapping up Fati in the past, but the hefty £357million release clause inserted into his terms made any approach impossible.

Fati began making waves in the first-team at Barcelona in August 2019, while aged just 16, and he scored seven goals in 24 LaLiga games in his impressive first season.

The next December, he became the youngest scorer in the history of the Champions League after netting the winner against Inter Milan.

Spain have also fielded Fati four times so far, with Luis Enrique choosing to hand the exciting talent his international debut last year.

He is currently recovering from a serious knee injury suffered November, and is expected to return to action in the middle of next month.

Meanwhile, his potential suitors, United, endured a nightmare start to the new Champions League campaign after they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at Young Boys.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off for a clumsy lunge after Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in Bern, and the hosts went on to claim a memorable victory.

Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned that his United team must learn from their mistakes, or risk another early group stage elimination.

‘Discipline is a huge part of the game in football in general not just the Champions League,’ Solskjaer said.

‘A lack of concentration, you make a mistake and you get done.

'We did that last year, conceding two sloppy counter-attacks against Basaksehir and lost that game in the last seconds today.

‘So we know we've given ourselves a more difficult task. We did last year when everyone thought we were through after two games.

‘You need 10 or 12 points: win your home games and one away from home.

'We've lost the opportunity to get three points, but we've got two home games next and got to focus on those two.’
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