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.
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 two months 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 February, 2021.
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 tasted silverware for the first time as Les Parisiens lifted consecutive league and cup titles.
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.
