Xavi Simons (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 2003) is now one of the most media-savvy players in the world. But he was also one of the most media-savvy players in the world four years ago, when, as a young player at Barcelona, it was revealed that he had signed a contract with PSG for one million euros a year. A salary more appropriate for a professional footballer, which was justified by, in addition to his obvious potential, the media star he was: he had millions of followers on Instagram and a sponsorship contract with Nike.
Once in the Parisian capital, he continued to show his enormous quality in the PSG youth system (one of the most powerful in Europe). He was a real sensation in the Youth League and made his debut in the first team under Pochettino, with whom he played 11 games alongside Neymar, Mbappé and Messi. As PSG might not promise him a permanent presence in the starting eleven with those three legends in attack, Xavi Simons decided to return to his native country (although he grew up in Alicante, he was born in the Netherlands, with whom he is an international) and sign for PSV. What many saw as a step backwards, he took advantage of to become, at 19 years old, one of the best players in Europe. It was 22 goals and 12 assists that earned him the option to buy back from PSG, which he accepted.
Last summer, in 2023, he became PSG’s property once more, but they allowed him to leave. This time, on loan. They didn’t want to make the same mistake as the previous summer, when they might have lost him forever (PSG’s buyback option included a condition: the player had to accept it). And in this season that is ending, already in a major league, he has once once more been decisive.
At Leipzig, Marco Rose played him on the wing, although his characteristics meant he tended to get into the box a lot. He scored 10 goals and assisted 15 times. He is lethal in the open field, being very slippery for all defenders. What is most striking, apart from his speed, is his powerful long-range shot. A differential talent.
Xavi Simons is now proving in professional football that those who bet on him when he was just a child were not wrong. He made his debut with the senior national team at the World Cup in Qatar and, since then, he has not missed a single call-up. In fact, he has only become more prominent and is now undisputed for Koeman. There have been some doubts regarding his performance with the national team, although, once morest Romania, he played his best game with the Oranje. The coach does not doubt him.
