Barcelona‘s La Masia academy has been producing world-class players for over 20 years. Many of them have already achieved legendary status.The previous golden generation was likely led by Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi,Víctor Valdes, and Cesc Fabregas, while the current one includes incredibly brilliant teenagers likeGavi, Pedri, Ronald Araujo, and Ansu Fati.
Xavi Simonswas hailed as ‘the next great thing’when he was only 14 and he might have been a member of the latteryear’s graduating class at Barcelona’s academy.Once upon a time, Simons was widely anticipated as La Masia’s next major star. After enrolling in Blaugrana’syouth program in 2010, the Dutch star quickly rose through the ranks.
Even though his fellow graduates have all made their debuts and become important members of the seniorsquad at Camp Nou, he decided to leave Spain in 2019 and join Paris Saint-Germain.He was a part of the Parisiansfor three years, although he only made 11 starts at the first-team level.
Xavi Simons spills the beans on Barcelona’s unconventional training regimen
Xavi Simons. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Just like Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, and Pedri, Xavi Simons has been around for quite some time, yet he really just turned 19 this year. Having been hailed as one of the sport’s future stars for quite some time, he is now finallydelivering on that promise but not at Barcelona, nor at PSG, instead atPSV.
The 19-year-old playmaker had difficulty making the transition from PSG’s junior team to the main squad despite his impressive performance there.Thus, to get more playing time, he left the French champions thisJune despite being offered a new contract, signing for Ruud van Nistelrooy’sPSV Eindhoven instead.
After a breakout season in which he has so far recorded 10 goals in 19 games despite being a midfielder, Simons is anticipated to play a significant part for the Netherlandsin the World Cup next month.After an impressive performance against Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League,he made some insightful remarks regarding his better physical frame, in which he contrasted the training techniques of his academy club, Barcelona, with those of his old team, Paris Saint-Germain.
“Believe me, at Barca they don’t do much work in the gym. They work with the ball, but not in the gym. When I arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, I found the differences. At PSG they worked in the gym. In Paris, you get a completely different life.
“Ligue 1 is a physically strong competition. Then you have to protect yourself and that was one of my goals. Being small doesn’t matter, being strong [does]. I was sixteen when I came to PSG. With all those guys, you notice the difference early on. I train hard and give everything. Football is my life”, hetoldESPN.
