Xavi Simons

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Xavi Simons
Xavi-simons-paris (cropped).jpg
Simons with Paris Saint-Germain U19 in 2020
Personal information
Full name Xavier Quentin Shay Simons
Date of birth (2003-04-21) 21 April 2003 (age 18)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Paris Saint-Germain
Number 34
Youth career
2008–2010 CD Tháder
2010–2019 Barcelona
2019– Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Paris Saint-Germain 1 (0)
National team‡
2018 Netherlands U15 5 (1)
2019 Netherlands U16 3 (0)
2019 Netherlands U17 6 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:15, 10 April 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2019

Xavier Quentin Shay Simons (born 21 April 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain.

Early life[]

Born in Amsterdam, Simons is the son of Dutch former footballer Regillio Simons.[1] Simons is of Surinamese descent through his father and of Dutch descent through his mother.[2] His brother Faustino, who also played football, shares the same birthday as him.[3]

Club career[]

Barcelona[]

Simons joined the youth setup of Barcelona in 2010 from CD Tháder,[4] and quickly progressed to become one of the Spanish club's most highly rated youth players, with English club Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid, reportedly attempting to sign him at a young age.[5][6]

Paris Saint-Germain[]

Simons with Paris Saint-Germain in 2020

In July 2019, Simons moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain, having failed to agree a new contract with Barcelona.[7][8] His contract with the Parisian club was reportedly worth up to €1 million annually,[9] and would expire in 2022.[10]

On 10 February 2021, Simons made his professional debut for PSG, coming on as a substitute for Julian Draxler in a 1–0 Coupe de France win over Caen.[11][12] He made his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Strasbourg two months later.[13] On 19 May 2021, he won his first professional trophy, the Coupe de France.[14]

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Simons was included in the first-team preparation and pre-season by manager Mauricio Pochettino.[15] On 14 July 2021, he came off the bench and scored a goal in a 4–0 friendly win over Le Mans at the Camp des Loges.[16] He scored another goal in a 2–2 friendly draw against Chambly three days later at the same ground.[17] On 18 August, Simons was sent back to train with the under-19 squad coached by Zoumana Camara.[18]

International career[]

Simons has represented the Netherlands at under-15, under-16, and under-17 level.[1][19]

Personal life[]

In March 2020, Simons was named on Goal's "NxGn 2020" list of 50 best wonderkids in world football.[20] He was also included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2020" in October.[21] Simons has amassed a large following on social media platform Instagram, with over 3 million followers. He also has a sponsorship contract with sporting goods manufacturer Nike.[22]

Career statistics[]

As of match played 10 April 2021[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 2020–21 Ligue 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Career total 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Honours[]

Paris Saint-Germain

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Who is Xavi Simons? La Masia wonderkid who broke Barcelona hearts to join PSG". goal.com. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Onderhandeling voor bondscoach gesprongen | Suriname Nieuws". www.srnieuws.com.
  3. ^ Xavi Simons at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ "Former Thader youngster Xavi Simons makes his debut for PSG". The Leader Newspaper. 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  5. ^ "Chelsea Following the Progress of 12-Year-Old Barcelona Starlet Xavi Simons". bleacherreport.com. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Real Madrid Transfer News: Xavi Simons Plan Reported to 'Strike Back' at Ban". bleacherreport.com. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Barca lose Dutch youngster Xavi Simons to PSG". espn.co.uk. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Simons explains his Barca exit: "Everyone dreams about Messi, but..."". besoccer.com. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Xavi Simons is on €1 million-per-year at Paris Saint-Germain". givemesport.com. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Xavi Simons signs his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Debut for Xavi Simons". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Caen vs. Paris Saint-Germain - Football Match Summary - February 10, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  13. ^ "Strasbourg vs. PSG - 10 April 2021 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Xavi Simons Earned First Career Trophy Win with PSGs Triumph in the 2021 Coupe de France final". psgtalk. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Premier match amical pour le PSG" [First friendly match for PSG]. ParisTeam.fr (in French). 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain V Le Mans" (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  17. ^ Barbaud, Maxime (17 July 2021). "Amical : Chambly arrache le match nul contre le PSG" [Friendly: Chambly grabs a draw against PSG]. Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Xavi Simons and Edouard Michut return to PSG U19s, Ismaël Gharbi stays with the seniors". Get French Football News. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Xavi Simons". uefa.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  20. ^ "NxGn 2020: The 50 best wonderkids in football". goal.com. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Xavi Simons: The Dutch soccer prodigy with two million Instagram followers". cnn.com. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Netherlands - X. Simons - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  24. ^ "Mbappe stars in Coupe de France final as PSG down Monaco". MARCA. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-20.

External links[]

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