Pau Cubarsí
Spanish footballer (born 2007)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pau Cubarsí Paredes (born 22 January 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. In July 2025, Sports Illustrated and ESPN ranked Cubarsí as the sixth-best centre-back in world football.[3][4]
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Cubarsí with Spain in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Pau Cubarsí Paredes[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 January 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bescanó, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Girona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2024 | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Barcelona B | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Barcelona | 85 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Spain U15 | 6 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Spain U16 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Spain U17 | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain U23 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Spain | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:07, 13 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:51, 27 June 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Early and personal life
Pau Cubarsí Paredes was born on 22 January 2007 in Bescanó, Girona, Catalonia,[5] to Gloria Paredes and Robert Cubarsí. He has an older sister, Irene, a physiotherapist.[6] He joined La Masia in 2018, located about an hour and a half away from his home in Bescanó.[7]
Cubarsí's first language is Catalan. While playing for Spain at the Olympic Games in 2024, he said that he rarely took part in interviews because he was not fluent speaking Spanish, having only ever lived in Catalonia and used his native language.[8]
Club career
Cubarsí began his career with Girona, before the move to Barcelona in 2018.[5] Having progressed through the academy, he became the third-youngest Barcelona player to debut in the UEFA Youth League, behind Lamine Yamal and Ilaix Moriba, when he started in an eventual 1–1 draw with Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.[5]
In April 2023, he trained with the first team for the first time, having been called up by manager Xavi.[9] He signed his first professional contract with the club three months later, on 8 July.[10] He was included in Barcelona's pre-season squad ahead of the 2023–24 season.[11]
On 18 January 2024, Cubarsí made his first team debut against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey, being subbed on in the 46th minute.[12] His first start came in the next match against Real Betis in La Liga, a day before his 17th birthday.[13] Two months later, on 12 March, he was named Player of the Match on his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–1 victory over Napoli in the round of 16 second leg, in which he became the youngest player to debut at 17 years and 50 days in the competition's knockout phase, breaking former Bayern Munich defender David Alaba's previous record of 17 years and 258 days.[14][15] On 10 April, Cubarsí has become the youngest defender to start in the quarter finals of the Champions League aged only 17 years and 79 days breaking the previous record held by CSKA Moscow's Georgi Shchennikov.[16] On 9 May, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Cubarsí for an extension until 30 June 2029, which has a 500 million euro buyout clause.[17][18]
On 25 February 2025, Cubarsí headed in his first goal for Barcelona, in a Copa Del Rey semi-final against Atlético Madrid which ended in a 4–4 draw.[19]
Cubarsí started in Barcelona's 5–0 win over Athletic Club in the 2026 Spanish Super Cup semi‑final, earning praise for a composed display in defence on a big stage.[20]
International career
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Cubarsí has represented Spain from under-15 to senior level.[21] In March 2024, he was called up to the senior Spain team for the first time by coach Luis de la Fuente, debuting in a 1–0 friendly loss to Colombia.[22] He came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute replacing Aymeric Laporte, in which he became the youngest defender to ever play for Spain at the age of 17 years one month and 28 days, breaking the record previously held by Sergio Ramos in 2005.[23]
On 27 May 2024, Cubarsí was named in the 29-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[24] However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament.[25]
In July 2024, Cubarsí was selected in the Spain under-23 squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[26] He and Spain would go on to win the Olympic gold medal at the men's football event in the Olympics.[27] On 25 May 2026, he was included in Spain's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[28]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 13 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona Atlètic | 2023–24 | Primera Federación | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Barcelona | 2023–24 | La Liga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 13[a] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 56 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | La Liga | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| Total | 85 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 128 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 94 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 137 | 2 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 26 June 2026[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | |
Honours
Barcelona
Spain U23
Spain
- UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2024–25[36]
Individual
- La Liga U23 Player of the Month: March 2024,[37] April 2026[38]
- IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2024[39]
- IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2024[40]
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2024–25[41], 2025–26[42]
