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17-Year-Old Ansu Fati Denied Man Of The Match For Barcelona Because Of His Age

17-Year-Old Ansu Fati Denied Man Of The Match For Barcelona Because Of His Age

Barcelona destroyed Villarreal 4-0 on Sunday night with Fati a standout performer.

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Barcelona youngster Ansu Fati missed out on being named Man of the Match last night because the award is sponsored by a beer company and he is underage.

17-year-old Fati sparkled in Barcelona's 4-0 win over Villarreal and he scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes before winning a penalty 15 minutes later .

The winger was a constant threat all night before being substituted in the second half and he would have been well deserving of the award.

But the award is currently sponsored by Budweiser and with the drinking age being 18 in Spain, Fati had to miss out.

Jordi Alba received the award instead and it's a big shame for Fati, who turns 18 on October 31.

Fati has been earmarked as the future of Barcelona and he has been receiving advice from Lionel Messi since breaking into the first team.

The Spaniard told reporters that playing with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is "living the dream."

"Playing with Messi is a dream I had since I was a child and now I am living it," Fati explained per Goal.

"He gives me a lot of advice, he helps me a lot on the pitch and in training, but away from it too, and that makes me very happy.

Image
PA
Image
PA

"I want to keep improving every day, to continue to learn from my team-mates because they are the best around and they are trying to help me every day."

Sunday evening's game was Ronald Koeman's first in charge in the league and he was very impressed with Fati's performance.

"I had criticised him against Elche but today I told him he had a great game, he was very direct and we made the most of his quality," Koeman admitted.

"He's a young player who has to look to perform consistently and he showed he had a great future and I'm so happy after his game today."

Fati will definitely have his shot at winning more Man of the Match awards in the future, but last night must have stung just a little bit.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images & La Liga TV

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Villarreal, Ansu Fati, La Liga