The making of Xavi: From La Masia to north London

Welcome to Spurs, Xavi Simons!

On Friday afternoon, we welcomed an exciting addition to the squad with the signing of the attacking midfielder on a long-term deal.

The Netherlands international will wear the number seven shirt and arrives following an impressive two-year spell with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Still only 22, the young playmaker has been one of the hottest properties amongst his age group throughout his fledgling career and here we chart his journey from the start to Spurs.

Home in Holland and an iconic namesake

Xavi was born in Amsterdam on 21 April, 2003, and spent his early years in the nation’s capital.

Named after the former Barcelona and Spain icon, Xavi Hernandez, he was three years old when his family moved to Alicante on Spain’s east coast.

Showing a keen interest in the game from a young age, Xavi started out at local club CD Thader, and the likes of Elche, Villarreal and Cadiz soon came calling. However, it was who Barcelona swooped for the seven-year-old and the decision was made to join their illustrious academy.

Made in La Masia

Joining the Catalan giants in 2010, Xavi was small in stature but large in character, possessing speed, technical ability and, most impressive of all, a work ethic and winning mentality that saw him captain various youth sides as he progressed through the academy system at La Masia.

Starting out in Barca’s Under-8s, he quickly developed into a hot prospect and a gem that had gained recognition beyond the pitch. By 14, the promising midfielder had broken into the Under-16s and gained over a million followers on social media as fans engaged with the journey of the distinctive frizzy, golden-haired teen.

Featuring regularly in Barca’s Cadete B (Under-16) title-winning side in 2017/18, he was promoted to the Cadete A the following campaign and was soon given the captain’s armband – regularly pictured motivating his team-mates in a pre-match huddle – leading them to victory in the league that term.

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That summer, after nine years in Barcelona’s academy, the starlet made the difficult decision to depart the Blaugrana to join Paris Saint-Germain – following in his idol Neymar Jr’s footsteps.

From PSG to PSV

Starting a new chapter in Paris, Xavi - whose mother instructed him to learn French to help him better integrate in the capital - initially played in the Under-19s and featured 18 times in that age group across the league, cup and UEFA Youth League.

Into his second season, the then 17-year-old made his non-competitive first team debut for PSG in a pre-season friendly against Sochaux in August, 2020, and was an unused substitute in their Ligue 1 opener at Lens a month later.

Continuing to shine in the Under-19s during the first half of the campaign, the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach in January, 2021 saw the young talent gain more exposure to the first team – starring the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria and later Lionel Messi – and made his debut at SM Caen in the Coupe de France in the February on their way to winning the competition.

His maiden Ligue 1 outing would come in April, 2021, coming off the bench in the closing stages of 4-1 win away to Strasbourg, and ended that term having featured in 14 matchday squads in all competitions.

By the end of his third season at the Parc des Princes, Xavi saw his first-team opportunities somewhat limited – whilst continuing to contribute for the Under-19s with nine goals and six assists in nine appearances, playing alongside Wilson Odobert – and departed the club with 11 senior appearances in all competitions to join Eredivisie outfit PSV Eindhoven for more regular first-team football the following year.

Having represented the Netherlands at every youth level from Under-15, the attacking midfielder returned to his country of birth and enjoyed his breakthrough in the Dutch top tier.

Xavi announced himself in style with a goal on debut to help PSV beat Ajax in the Johan Cruyff Shield and went on to register 19 league goals, as well as nine assists, to finish as the league’s joint-top scorer. He ended his spell there with 48 appearances in all competitions, seven of those in the UEFA Europa League, including a vital assist for the equaliser in the KNVB Cup final against Ajax before his side won on penalties to add another winners’ medal.

Oranje call-up and Bundesliga bound

Following his blistering start in Eindhoven, the creative talent received his first call-up to the Dutch senior squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over November and December. On the bench throughout the group stage, Xavi came on against the USA in the last 16 for his international debut and, at 19 years old, became the youngest-ever player to feature for his country in the knockout stages of the competition.

On the world stage and lighting it up in his homeland, former side PSG exercised their buy-back option to re-sign the midfielder in the summer of 2023 who was immediately loaned to RB Leipzig to continue his development.

A versatile attack-minded player, adept at playing as a No. 10, central midfielder and a winger, the loan switch proved successful, contributing 21 goals – eight goals, 13 assists – in 32 Bundesliga matches as well as providing two goals and two assists – one against Manchester City – in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage.

An established international by this stage, Xavi earned his spot in Oranje’s preliminary EURO 2024 squad and, having opened his account in a friendly win over Iceland in the build-up to the tournament on 10 June, then played a starring role in the major international tournament in Germany as he started all but one game during the Netherlands’ run to the semi-finals where they were beaten late on by England despite his stunning long-range opener. He has 28 international caps to date, scoring five times.

Returning to Leipzig, the playmaker added a further 11 goals and eight assists in all competitions last term – notching double figures (10) in the league – and added to his club tally in the DFB Cup prior to his move to north London this term, ending with 22 goals and 24 assists in his 78 games across the board.