Pau Cubarsí Paredes (born 22 January 2007) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and the Spain national team.

Early and personal life

Pau Cubarsí Paredes was born on 22 January 2007 in

Bescanó Bescanó () is a small town in the province of Girona and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Cat ...

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

to Gloria Paredes and Robert Cubarsí. He has an older sister, Irene, a physiotherapist. He joined La Masia in 2018, located about an hour and a half away from his home in Bescanó. Cubarsí speaks Catalan, the language he grew up with, as his parents spoke it as the main language at home. 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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, having only ever lived in Catalonia and used his native language.

Club career

Cubarsí began his career with

, before the move to

in 2018. Having progressed through the academy, he became the third-youngest Barcelona player to debut in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

, behind

Lamine Yamal Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (born 13 July 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Known for his flair, chance creation, and long-distance curling goals, Yamal ...

and Ilaix Moriba, when he started in an eventual 1–1 draw with Czech side

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

. In April 2023, he trained with the first team for the first time, having been called up by manager

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

. He signed his first professional contract with the club three months later, on 8 July. He was included in Barcelona's pre-season squad ahead of the 2023–24 season. On 18 January 2024, Cubarsí made his first team debut against Unionistas de Salamanca in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, being subbed on in the 46th minute. His first start came in the next match against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

in La Liga, a day before his 17th birthday. Two months later, on 12 March, he was named Player of the Match on his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut in a 3–1 victory over

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

in the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

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 Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

defender

David Alaba David Alaba (; born 24 June 1992) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Austria national team. He was previously primarily a left-back, and was considered one of the best ...

's previous record of 17 years and 258 days. 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 CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

Georgi Shchennikov Georgi Mikhaylovich Shchennikov (; born 27 April 1991) is a Russian former footballer who played as a left defensive midfielder or left-back. He is a son of the Olympic medalist race walker Mikhail Shchennikov. Club career He made his debut f ...

. On 9 May,

announced that they had reached an agreement with Cubarsí for an extension until 30 June 2029, which has a 500m Euro buyout clause. On 25 February 2025, Cubarsi headed his first goal for Barcelona, in a

Copa Del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

semi-final against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

which ended in a 4–4 draw.

International career

Cubarsí has represented Spain from under-15 to senior level. In March 2024, he was called up to the senior

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

team for the first time by coach Luis de la Fuente, debuting in a 1–0 friendly loss to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. 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 Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captain (association football), captains Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Regarded as one of the gr ...

in 2005. On 27 May 2024, Cubarsí was named in the 29-man preliminary squad for the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament. In July 2024, Cubarsi was selected in the Spain under-23 squad for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He and Spain would go on to win the Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the men's football event in the Olympics.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Barcelona *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 2024–25 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Spain U23 *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Spain *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual * La Liga U23 Player of the Month: March 2024 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2024 *

Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2024 *

La Liga Team of the Season The La Liga Awards, previously known as the LFP awards, are presented annually by the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) to the best players and coach in La Liga, the first division of association football in Spain. Established in the 2008–09 La ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

Profile
at the FC Barcelona website
Profile
at the Royal Spanish Football Federation website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cubarsí, Pau 2007 births Living people Footballers from Girona Spanish men's footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's international footballers Men's association football central defenders Primera Federación players Girona FC players FC Barcelona players FC Barcelona Atlètic players Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Spain Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Spain Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Spanish sportsmen