da dobrowin： The centre-back has shown immense potential since breaking into Xavi's line-up, but is better off being rested for two meaningless friendlies

da stake casino： Pau Cubarsi has been turning heads at Barcelona. Xavi has admitted that the defender's passing range is among the best he has ever seen. Ronald Araujo, meanwhile, compared him to Gerard Pique, while fellow teenage wonderkid Lamine Yamal dubbed him one of the best in the world.

To an extent, all three were correct in their summations. The centre-back has burst onto the scene for Barca over the past six weeks, looking every bit the La Masia graduate who can shepherd the Blaugrana backline that the club has craved for years.

This is undoubtedly reason for excitement. Xavi's side have endured a miserable season, full of injuries, poor results, and the ultimate collapse of what seemed to be a promising title defence that has led to the manager's decision to walk away at the end of it. The club has been looking for positives to cling onto, and Cubarsi's emergence – along with that of Yamal – is certainly one.

But, like so many youth products to rise through the Barca academy system, those good vibes could yet be squashed. And once again, the Spanish national team are to blame.

Manager Luis de la Fuente has called-up Cubarsi for Spain's friendlies against Colombia and Brazil, offering a starry-eyed 17-year-old the opportunity to represent his country. But for Barca, who have seen so many of their top talents either drained or injured in part due to the rigours of international football, Cubarsi is better off at home.

The teenager was never going to turn down a national team call-up, but Spain should know better than to throw another immensely-talented youngster into the fire before he has settled in at a senior level.

Getty ImagesRapid rise

Perhaps because of his position on the pitch, Cubarsi hadn't been spoken about in the same glowing terms as some other recent La Masia graduates, such as Gavi, Yamal and Alejandro Balde. Still, Cubarsi captained youth teams at numerous levels, and in 2022, became the third-youngest Barcelona player to make an appearance in the UEFA Youth League.

Xavi rewarded him shortly after, calling the centre-back up to first-team training in 2023. Prior to this season, though, Cubarsi figured to be a player-in-waiting for Barca's reserve side. He started the season with Barca Athletic, making nine appearances for the team which plays in the Spanish third division before coming anywhere near the senior team.

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On January 18, Barcelona were carved apart by a Spanish third-division side – albeit briefly. Unionistas de Salamanca, whose stadium seats a mere 6,000 fans, made Barca panic in the first half of their Copa del Rey tie. They led 1-0 after 30 minutes, as a sweeping move made an experienced Blaugrana unit fall apart in conceding.

At half-time, Xavi turned to his bench to amend things. Cubarsi was his first call, the centre-back brought into the fray to shore things up for a Barca defence that looked like it could collapse at any second. In 45 minutes, he won every tackle he made, touched the ball 65 times, and completed 93 percent of his passes. If there were supposed to be any nerves associated with being a 16-year-old entrusted with turning around a game that was in danger of slipping away, then they weren't to be found here.

The manager sang Cubarsi's praises at full-time. "He's very well prepared," Xavi said in his post-game news conference. "He doesn't seem 16 when you speak with him. He is a focused and responsible kid. I don't think he lost a single ball, either.

Since then, Cubarsi has made 12 further first-team appearances, becoming a regular alongside Araujo, and has now received a call-up to the national side.

Getty ImagesShowered in praise

Praise for Cubarsi's performances has poured in from all over the footballing world; that is how it works for those who don the Blaugrana. Comparisons to legends of the game haven't been hard to find, either.

"Technically, [Pique] always offered a solution," began Araujo when asked about his new defensive partner. "He reminds me a little bit of Pau Cubarsi, because he has something of him, he’s very smart. The truth is that he has unbelievable talent at just 17 years old."

Former Bayern Munich and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, meanwhile, has suggested that Cubarsi could be better than both Pique and Carles Puyol, telling after the teenager's Man-of-the-Match-worthy display against Napoli in the Champions League: "He played ridiculously good, that is a star now, a star of the future. He’s obviously completely different from Puyol, Pique was brilliant, but I think his long-range passing is better than any of those. By far."

But perhaps the most flattering adulation came in the gossip columns, when Spanish publication reported that Pep Guardiola is monitoring the teenager, and hopes to bring him into the Manchester City setup.

Cubarsi, for his part, has tried to ease the hype. "I will just keep working to make sure things keep going well,” he said. But the excitement, both from within Catalunya and beyond, simply cannot be controlled.

Getty ImagesSpain's wonderkid woes

The expectations placed on teenagers in recent times has, however, been an area of tension in Spain. A concerning pattern has emerged of the national team calling-up inexperienced youngsters to the senior squad as soon as they start playing first-team football at club level, only for them to burn out and begin to suffer from injury problems before they've even entered their early-20s.

Spain, of course, are not unique in this respect. Most national sides want to fast-track their best talents into the senior team. There is no shame in wanting to win. But, whether it be by bad luck or poor judgement, La Roja have have played a role in a handful of young careers that are at risk of being ruined by fitness woes, with Barca trio Ansu Fati, Gavi, and Pedri having all either sustained major injuries or seen their young legs battered while playing for their country.

Part of the blame can be laid at former coach Luis Enrique's door, but it is a pattern that has continued under De la Fuente. Gavi had only started three games for Barcelona when he was first called-up as a 17-year-old in October 2021. Yamal, meanwhile, had only made five appearances when he was handed his international debut as a 16-year-old in September 2023.

Pedri had the opposite problem, and was 42 appearances into his first season at Barca as an 18-year-old when Luis Enrique decided he was going to make him the fulcrum of his Euro 2020 team – before allowing him, inexplicably, to represent the country at the Olympics just weeks after that tournament had ended. Unsurprisingly, his hamstrings have never been the same.

Fati was also rushed into international action despite injury concerns – bringing about workload issues that undoubtedly contributed to his chronic knee injuries.