Barcelona's 16-year-old starlet Ansu Fati was granted Spanish citizenship on Friday, a government spokeswoman said, meaning he will be able to represent Spain at international level.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's cabinet approved a request made by the justice minister to give the Guinea-Bissau-born forward Spanish citizenship during its weekly meeting, the spokeswoman said.
Fati was just seven years old when he moved to Spain from an impoverished west African family and his startling talent meant he was invited to join Barcelona's prestigious youth academy 'La Masia' aged 10.
In August, he became the youngest player to score for Barcelona in La Liga and on Tuesday, the club's youngest player to play in the Champions League.
Spain's national coach Robert Moreno described Fati's full debut for Barcelona last weekend as “mind-blowing” after he scored one goal and set up another in a 5-2 win over Valencia.
His first major tournament for Spain could come as early as October, when the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup kicks off in Brazil.
