Child star, teen social media icon and now wanted by Europe's top clubs, is it tim for Xavi Simons to star for Netherlands at Euro 2024?
They all wanted a picture of the boy with golden curls, the La Masia starlet named after a Barcelona legend.
"I remember the people, 'Xavi, Xavi, photo, photo!'," explains former La Masia coach Pau Moral, who first witnessed his popularity at a national under-12s tournament. "I know what I want to achieve with my football career," says Simons. "My path has not been the easiest one. A lot of ups and downs." "He is a very good guy, a bit shy, not the guy who is always speaking but on the pitch he is an animal. All the time with his friends 'come on, come on', motivating them."
Simons' mother, Peggy, instructed him to take French lessons to integrate better with team-mates, adding to his Dutch, Spanish, Catalan and English. "Sometimes I have to just relax, not think all day about football, I have another life that is different." Fans were aware of this talented kid with a huge social media following who had been at Barcelona and PSG, but they were yet to see what he could produce.
Simons earned a place at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, coming on against the USA in the last 16 for his international debut, but also the attention of former club PSG, who with the player's wishes exercised their option to buy him back.
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