Five things on Xavi Simons
Xavi Simons has excelled in his time at RB Leipzig with 21 direct goal-involvements in the Bundesliga, but what else is there to know?
Xavi joined the Red Bulls on loan from Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the season, and quickly established himself as one of the team's key players despite his tender 21 years of age.
The Dutch youngster has eight goals and 13 assists from his 31 Bundesliga appearances. We take a closer look at his career so far…
1. What's in a name?
Xavi Quentin Shay Simons was born in Amsterdam on 21 April 2003 to mother Peggy and father Regillio Simons, who had been a top-flight striker in the Netherlands in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Perhaps understandably, Simons senior was an admirer of the great Barcelona team of the era, and duly named his second son Xavi after the Blaugrana's then midfield metronome and current head coach.
2. He idolised Neymar
Xavi might have wished he'd been called 'Neymar', with the Brazilian quickly becoming the youngster's footballing inspiration as he worked his way up through Barca's fabled La Masia academy.
Neymar left Barcelona for PSG in a world-record transfer in 2017, and Xavi followed him two years later, initially joining as part of their academy before making his first-team breakthrough.
"Neymar's my idol," Xavi later admitted. "Seeing him every day had a huge impact on me. When you become part of a team like that, which is one of the best I've ever seen… you notice the attention to detail they put in daily."
From Child to Star: The Journey of Xavi Simons
3. Senior debut
It was Paris who handed Xavi his first-team debut, then, the attacker replacing former Schalke man Julian Draxler in a Coupe de France win over Caen aged just 17. His first senior assist - for Kylian Mbappé - followed a year later.
Xavi won medals for the 2021 Coupe de France and following season's Ligue 1 triumph, but only clocked 11 appearances over the piece. It was back in his native Netherlands where he first realised his potential…
4. From PSG to PSV
Xavi joined PSV Eindhoven on a five-year contract in June 2022, and he soon made up for lost time.
Xavi scored on his debut, a 5-3 win over hometown team Ajax to help PSV lift the Johan Cruyff Shield, and ended the season with 22 goals, 12 assists and the first of 13 international caps to his name.
Little wonder PSG exercised their buyback option so quickly.
From PSV to RBL
5. Loan to Leipzig
Leipzig won the race for Xavi's signature when it became clear PSG would be willing to loan him out at the start of the current campaign, and he has given the Red Bulls wings with his attacking verve.
Xavi's ten goals and 15 assists in all competitions have come well inside a rate of one every two games he has played.
"This is the step that I needed now, to reach the goal that I want to reach," he told the Bundesliga's official website. "It's really good that I'm here and improving every day."
We couldn't agree more.
