An 18-year-old who has only started 23 matches for Barcelona has been given Lionel Messi's iconic No. 10 jersey
- Ansu Fati, 18, has been named as Barcelona's new No. 10 following Lionel Messi's transfer.
- Messi scored 630 goals in the jersey between 2008 and 2021.
- Barca was prevented from retiring the shirt due to strict La Liga rules on squad numbers.
Ansu Fati, an 18-year-old striker, has been named FC Barcelona's new No. 10 following the departure of Lionel Messi.
Messi, who inherited the shirt number from Ronaldinho in 2008, donned the jersey for 13 years, scoring 630 goals before moving to Paris Saint Germain this summer.
Barcelona was prevented from retiring the shirt due to LaLiga rules that state first-team players must wear the numbers 1 to 25.
Fati, a graduate of the club's famous La Masia academy, made his debut for Barcelona in August 2019.
In his inaugural season at the Camp Nou, he went on to score eight goals and became the club's youngest ever goalscorer in both La Liga and the Champions League.
He started last term as brightly, scoring five times in 10 games before being ruled out of the remainder of the campaign with injury.
In total, the Spaniard has made 41 appearances for the club, just 23 of which have been starts.
This season, Fati will help form a new-look strike force at Barcelona as Antoine Griezmann followed Messi out of the club on deadline day Tuesday.
Griezmann re-joined his former club Atletico Madrid in a deal worth $105 million less than Barca paid for him two years ago, while Sevilla's Luuk De Jong was brought in on loan as a replacement.