As an 11-year-old,
the teenager was plucked from Real Betis as Ronald Koeman's first squad
advanced from the La Masia academy.
He was able to remove
Riqui Puig from the picture during the 2020–2021 preseason, and he now wears
the legendary number ‘6’ jersey that former head coach Xavi Hernandez wore but
gave up when Puig defected to the LA Galaxy.
Gavi, a seasoned
Spain international who attended the World Cup in the winter, has already won
the Golden Boy award for Europe's finest player under 21 after defeating rivals
like Real Madrid youngster Jude Bellingham.
He was an integral
member of the Barcelona team that won the first La Liga title in four years in
2022–2023, when Xavi switched to a four-man midfield formation following the
Qatar 2022 World Cup and started playing on the left flank as a false winger.
Gavi was most
excellent in the aforementioned role when leading Barca to a Spanish Super Cup
victory against archrivals Madrid where he scored a goal and supplied two
assists in a 3-1 final win, securing Xavi's first trophy since succeeding
Koeman.
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According to Fabrizio
Romano and Mundo Deportivo on Friday, Barca look to have outbid a number of
elite teams, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, for the
services of German wonderkid Darvich, who will only cost them €3 million ($3.3
million). Darvich can play a variety of midfield positions and will be
available for just that much.
If Gavi "fails
to take that step forward" and win Xavi over once more, according to El
Nacional, he might be sacrificed in 2024 when Barca would likely need to make a
significant player sale to bring in new players due to their financial
difficulties.
The 19-year-old has
readily drawn interest from Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Liverpool, as evidenced
when his previous contract was about to expire. If he were to put himself on
the market, that interest would undoubtedly resurface.