‘He’s a 10 as a person’… Pau Cubarsi now heaps praise on former Barcelona coach | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have well and truly moved on to the Hansi Flick era at the club and in some style. The German has had an unbelievable start to life managing the Spanish club, with nine wins from 11 games across all competitions.

As much as one can praise Flick’s work at Barcelona, it cannot come at the expense of belittling what Xavi Hernandez did for the club during his two-and-a-half-year tenure as the club’s manager. He laid the foundations for many of the things that the German coach is taking to the next level.

One of Xavi’s many success stories at Barcelona is the emergence of Pau Cubarsi. The Spanish tactician cherry-picked him from the academy when he was just 16 years old and to the youngster’s credit, he has not looked back since.

Cubarsi continues to be one of the first names on the team sheet under Hansi Flick but has not forgotten what Xavi did for him. Speaking in an interview as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, the €30m-rated defender has special words for his former coach.

“I am very grateful to Xavi for everything he has done for me; he’s a 10 as a person who helps you both on and off the field.”

The teenager then went on to speak about the emotions after Xavi announced he was leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, in the aftermath of a difficult 5-3 loss to Villarreal. He said:

“After the Villarreal match, it was a tough moment; he was being criticized… we were with him the whole time in the locker room. It’s hard to see the coach who gave you the opportunity being criticized.”

Cubarsi also recollected the moments leading up to his debut for Barcelona in the second half of the Cup game, revealing how he felt. He continued:

“In Salamanca, in the Cup, Xavi told me to warm up… a lot of thoughts come to your mind at that moment; it was a dream. Once you’re on the field, you focus on the game.”

“I made my league debut at 16 at the Villamarín; during the talk, I realized I was going to be a starter, and that’s how I found out. I quickly told my parents. I still have that jersey; it’s special.”

Pau Cubarsi has continued to grow stronger in a Barcelona shirt, and at such a young age, he is already a gold medalist with Spain in the Olympic Games. He consistently amazes everyone, with new signing Wojciech Szczesny stating that the 17-year-old has surprised him the most at the club.

Some of the things that Cubarsi does on the football pitch and the conviction with which he does it make you wonder if he is just 17. He is a very mature footballer with a ceiling as high as he wants to go and Barcelona is the best place to achieve that.

Pau Cubarsi might not garner the same kind of headlines as Lamine Yamal but he must be talked about in the same breath when it comes to comparing talents and their potential. He is right up there to become one of the best central defenders in the world and let’s wait and see how his career pans out.