The 16-year-old made headlines over the weekend in Spain when he became the youngest player since 1941 to make his debut for the Spanish champions.
With Barcelona missing key frontmen in the shape of Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez, Ernesto Valverde introduced Fati twelve minutes to full time as the hosts run out 5-2 winners over Real Betis on the night.
Valdes, who manages Fati in Barcelona’s youth set-up, is delighted with the Guinea-Bissau born forward’s development after getting him a new pair of boots at a youth tournament in Russia last month.
"I told him to bring me his boots and they were a complete disaster, they were causing him pain," Valdes said at a press conference on Monday.
"Nobody had thought it could be the boots, but I did. We went to buy some new ones."
"He's strong, quick and self-confident," he said.
"You have to give this kind of talent freedom so that he flows. I'm so happy for him, he called me this morning and it made me very excited.
"I'm thankful to Valverde for giving him some minutes. His performance didn't surprise me.
"He represents hard work. He has the soul of an elite player and he's a predator in the box."
