REVEALED: Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati 'is the player Luis Enrique said he wished he didn't take to the World Cup with Spain'... as the 20-year-old's woes continue amid a frustrating lack of game time under Xavi

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Ansu Fati is said to be the player that former Spain head coach, Luis Enrique, wished he had left out of the squad at last year's Qatar World Cup, according to reports. 

Enrique made the comment during a Twitch stream after he was sacked from his role in charge of the national team, but the conversation was along the same lines as the live-streams that he ran habitually through Spain's time in the competition. 

Speaking to Spanish internet celebrity Ibai Llanos, Enrique was candid about one of his mistakes during his ill-fated tenure in charge of La Roja. 

'I would make a change – there is one [player] I would not take. 

'Now I can say it, although I won't say who I would leave or who I would take. 

Barcelona striker Ansu Fati is believed to be the player Luis Enrique regretted taking to Qatar

Luis Enrique was tight-lipped about which of the players he would have left at home 

The former Spain manager would stream on Twitch throughout the team's World Cup journey

'There was one player that I would have liked to bring and another that I took, and what I was saw was not what I expected.'

As per Spanish sports outlet Marca, Fati is the player that failed to live up to expectations. 

During his announcement of the squad that was to travel to Qatar last November, Enrique made reference to a player he and his coaching staff had discussed at length as to whether he was suitable. 

Despite Fati making the journey to Qatar, he failed to rise to the occasion, and made only two appearances for La Roja. 

The 20-year-old came on during Spain's defeats against Japan and Morocco, the latter spelling the end for both their World Cup campaign and Enrique's tenure as head coach. 

News that Fati was the player than Enrique alluded to in his post-Qatar comments comes as the striker's father has been making headlines for decrying his son's playing time at Barcelona. 

Bori Fati (R) has been outspoken about his desire to see his son get more game time under Xavi

The Barcelona legend has only started Fati nine times for the league leaders this season

In an interview with Spanish radio show Cope, Bori Fati revealed that he has encouraged his son to consider life beyond the Catalan club due to Xavi's unwillingness to regularly start the No 10. 

As per his father, Fati would like to stay in Barcelona but Bori stressed that 'what bothers [him] is how they are treating Ansu for minutes.'

Fati made his explosive debut for the Blaugrana in 2019 at the age of 16, and at the start of the 2021/22 season was handed Lionel Messi's hallowed No 10 shirt. 

But the player has experienced a dip in form under new manager Xavi and has made just nine LaLiga starts this season.