During the last winter transfer window, Ansu Fati came very close to leaving FC Barcelona due to the lack of playing time under Hansi Flick following his loan spell at Brighton. The club that came closest to sealing the deal was Besiktas. However, its president has explained why the transfer ultimately fell through even though everything had been agreed upon.

Besiktas’ president explains why they couldn’t sign Ansu Fati

As soon as the winter transfer window opened, Hansi Flick was honest with Ansu Fati and recommended he look for an exit in order to get the minutes he needed—minutes Flick admitted he couldn’t provide. Everything was set for a move to Besiktas, who had even submitted a transfer offer that was reportedly accepted by Barcelona. However, a loss against Twente in the final round of the Europa League, which knocked them out of the playoff stage, blew up the deal.

That’s what Serdal Adali, the Turkish club’s president, revealed: “Ansu Fati was on our radar, just like Patrick Berg and Samuel Dahl. After the Europa League match against Twente, my intention was to bring Fati to Istanbul. We had even reached an agreement with Barcelona for the transfer. However, the night we were eliminated, we were informed that he would no longer be coming. The player was very excited—we had already spoken to his father. But our elimination from European competition ruined the deals.”

Solskjaer, a key figure in Ansu Fati’s potential arrival at Besiktas

After a poor start to the season, Besiktas decided to hire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to try to turn things around. After the painful early Europa League exit, the team managed to string together six consecutive wins that brought them back to life. However, once the initial effect of his arrival wore off, Besiktas fell back into a negative spiral, currently sitting in fifth place in the SüperLig and eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Turkish Cup.

The potential summer arrival of Ansu Fati at Besiktas is largely tied to the presence of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the bench. In fact, Manchester United was once willing to spend big after his breakout at Barcelona when Solskjaer was still the manager. Now, the situation has changed dramatically for both. That said, if Besiktas wants to keep dreaming of signing Ansu Fati, qualifying for European competitions next season will be essential.