Reaching almost 500,000 followers on Instagram is not easy, no matter how much we live in times of influencers and hyperconnection. Doing it when you are a child, between 12 and 13 years old, seems almost impossible. But it was not for Xavi Simons, whose curls stood out in the Barça subsidiary, at the same time that he became an idol of the masses. Such a media product did not take long to attract the attention of Nike and the large representation agencies and Mino Raiola landed in the life of this midfielder born in Amsterdam (he is international with the inferiors of the Netherlands), but raised in the heat of La Masía blaugrana .
ANDThe ‘Xavi Simons phenomenon’ began to be in danger with the arrival of the Italian agent and soon PSG would end the fairy tale of Barcelona. Thus, at the age of 16, he was born on April 21, 2004, the siren songs coming from the Parque de los Príncipes convinced the very young footballer. The economic offer was powerful, but that of Barça, according to the Catalan press, came close (around one million euros a year). However, Simons’ dream was to get to the first team as soon as possible. And that, in Paris they promised it before than in Barcelona …
In the French capital he went directly to the U-19 team and last year he already managed to cross out his debut with the first team from your personal to-do list on the road to stardom. On February 10, he replaced Draxler in a cup game against Caen. 12 minutes followed by another minute against Strasbourg, already in Ligue 1. Now, with PSG immersed in a preseason full of promising youngsters, until all the internationals return from their holidays, Simons is raising his voice and is doing yours the summer.
A first-rate preseason
Two preseason games, two goals and one assist. The rivals have not been of supreme quality, as they have been Le Mans (4-0) and Chambly (2-2), but it seems that Pochettino is being convinced by their disposition. In the first of the matches he came out in the second half, but he had time to assist Fadiga in the third and close the win himself.
Xavi Simons analysis.
BeSoccer Pro (BeSoccer Pro)
The Argentine coach rewarded his performance with the title in the second friendly, pairing with Gueye in the engine room. With 1-1 on the scoreboard, rreceived between the lines to play first, high-heeled, towards Gharbi, another of the great pearls of the quarry (a goal and an assist at 17 years old in the preseason), who filtered a pass to the back of the defense. The speed and definition of the former Barça player did the rest. PSG was quick to show off their promising partner on Twitter: “Our boys are talented.”
The goal is a good example of the footballer’s characteristics, far from being a midfielder profile in the purest Masía style. Although he has the quality to manage the team, Simons is a fast, vertical midfielder who sometimes had to control that momentum to go forward., as they well remembered in Sport, in an interview with Carles Martínez, Kuwait U-20 coach and Xavi’s coach in infantil A and cadet A.
“When the moment of truth came, if a penalty had to be taken, he always took a step forward”, he remembered. That is Xavi Simons, who is not being weighed down by the weight of the Parisian first team. The curls, trademark, are still intact, and 500,000 followers have grown to 3.4 million over the years. We will see if this step forward is a summer mirage, as would be logical due to age and depth of staff, or if Pochettino is truly for the work of giving the alternative to one of the talents who are best taking advantage of the holidays of the elders.