Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Xavi Simons revealed that leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 16 was an easy decision, as the LaLiga club did not believe in him.
Simons was a youth player at Barca before making the switch to PSG in 2019 and making his senior debut for the French club in the 2020-21 season.
The Netherlands international enjoyed positive loan spells with PSV and RB Leipzig, and joined the latter on a permanent deal in 2024-25.
During his two seasons with Leipzig (including a loan spell), only Florian Wirtz (44) directly contributed to more goals among Bundesliga midfielders than Simons (36 – 18 goals, 18 assists).
The 23-year-old joined Tottenham last season, though he missed the run-in and the 2026 World Cup after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April.
Barca are known for producing plenty of talented youngsters, though Simons was not scared to leave the Spanish giants.
“It was clear from their side that they didn’t believe in me,” Simons told The Sports Agents.
Grinding every day to relive these moments. pic.twitter.com/YMZIXDRyt7
— Xavi Simons (@xavisimons) July 20, 2026
“At that time, I chose not to speak because I was only focused on the pitch, but they told me, ‘We have other players we believe in and want to offer you a contract, but you’re not one of the players who are truly part of the project’.
“I’ve been there my whole life. I’ve been through different situations, I’ve experienced everything there, my entire childhood was there, so I love the club.
“Everything that came out hurt me and my family too. They simply preferred other boys at that time. And that’s fine.
“I had PSG with a really big project at 16 years old, training with the best players in the world, so the decision was easy.”
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