Ansu Fati had the luxury of being in Barcelona’s world famous La Masia academy from the age of 10, although early life had still been a struggle, with he and his family having arrived in Spain from Guinea-Bissau four years prior.
Fati’s experience in football has been a blessing, especially when compared to the trails and tribulations that his cousin, Kelly, faced in Portugal.
In an interview with A Bola (covered by Sport), Kelly detailed their experiences of a “nightmare” 14-month spell at Porto’s Bsports Academy, which gave promises to more than 100 young foreign footballers.
“The people inside Bsports Academy told me that there was no place for me, that I had no quality and that there would never be an opportunity to go out and train at a club. It would just be training 24 hours a day, always in the same place.
“They told me that I would train in big clubs, such as FC Porto and SC Braga. The director of the academy, Mario Costa, even told me that he had already had the possibility to talk to that club so that I could go to train, but that never happened.”
Kelly went on to explain to circumstances surrounding their exit from the academy in December 2022.
“My father had come from England to visit me, but the academy did not accept. My father was very irritated and immediately told me to pack my bags because I was leaving. The academy didn’t want me to leave and didn’t even let me carry my bags.
“Then I decided to ask for a vacation. I said I wanted to take a few days off to visit my father. They only gave me five days, saying it was to go and come back. When I was there, they called me non-stop, telling me I had to come back, but I said that I was never going back.”
Neither Costa nor Bsports Academy have yet to respond to Kelly’s statements, but it must have been a frightening experience for all of the young footballers involved, who would have started one with dreams of playing for teams like Barcelona.
