Pau Cubarsí
Spanish footballer (born 2007) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pau Cubarsí Paredes (born 22 January 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Known for his distribution, defensive positioning and game intelligence, he is considered to be one of the best young defenders in the world.[3][4][5]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pau Cubarsí Paredes[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 January 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bescanó, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Girona | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2024 | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Barcelona B | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Barcelona | 50 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Spain U15 | 6 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Spain U16 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Spain U17 | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain U23 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:43, 19 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:36, 20 March 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Early and personal life
Pau Cubarsí Paredes was born on 22 January 2007 in Bescanó, Girona, Catalonia[6] to Gloria Paredes and Robert Cubarsí. He has an older sister, Irene, a physiotherapist.[7] He joined La Masia in 2018, located about an hour and a half away from his home in Bescanó.[8]
Cubarsí speaks Catalan, the language he grew up with, as his parents spoke it as the main language at home. While playing for Spain at the Olympic Games in 2024, he said that he rarely took part in interviews because he was not fluent speaking Spanish, having only ever lived in Catalonia and used his native language.[9]
Club career
Summarize
Perspective
Cubarsí began his career with Girona, before the move to Barcelona in 2018.[6] Having progressed through the academy, he became the third-youngest Barcelona player to debut in the UEFA Youth League, behind Lamine Yamal and Ilaix Moriba, when he started in an eventual 1–1 draw with Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.[6]
In April 2023, he trained with the first team for the first time, having been called up by manager Xavi.[10] He signed his first professional contract with the club three months later, on 8 July.[11] He was included in Barcelona's pre-season squad ahead of the 2023–24 season.[12]
On 18 January 2024, Cubarsí made his first team debut against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey, being subbed on in the 46th minute.[13] His first start came in the next match against Real Betis in La Liga, a day before his 17th birthday.[14] Two months later, on 12 March, he was named Player of the Match on his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–1 victory over Napoli in the round of 16 second leg, in which he became the youngest player to debut at 17 years and 50 days in the competition's knockout phase, breaking former Bayern Munich defender David Alaba's previous record of 17 years and 258 days.[3][5] On 10 April, Cubarsí has become the youngest defender to start in the quarter finals of the Champions League aged only 17 years and 79 days breaking the previous record held by CSKA Moscow's Georgi Shchennikov.[15] On 9 May, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Cubarsí for an extension until 30 June 2029, which has a 500m Euro buyout clause.[16][17]
On 25 February 2025, Cubarsi headed his first goal for Barcelona, in a Copa Del Rey semi-final against Atlético Madrid which ended in a 4–4 draw.[18]
International career
Cubarsí has represented Spain from under-15 to senior level.[19] In March 2024, he was called up to the senior Spain team for the first time by coach Luis de la Fuente, debuting in a 1–0 friendly loss to Colombia.[20] He came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute replacing Aymeric Laporte, in which he became the youngest defender to ever play for Spain at the age of 17 years one month and 28 days, breaking the record previously held by Sergio Ramos in 2005.[21]
On 27 May 2024, Cubarsí was named in the 29-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[22] However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament.[23]
In July 2024, Cubarsi was selected in the Spain under-23 squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics. He and Spain would go on to win the Olympic gold medal at the men's football event in the Olympics.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 May 2025
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona Atlètic | 2023–24 | Primera Federación | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Barcelona | 2023–24 | La Liga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 13[a] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 52 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 59 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 1 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 20 March 2025[24]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
Honours
Barcelona
Spain U23
Individual
- La Liga U23 Player of the Month: March 2024[4]
- IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2024[28]
- IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2024[29]
References
External links
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