Pau Cubarsí

Early career

Cubarsí began his career with Girona, before moving to Barcelona in 2018. Having progressed through the academy, he became the third-youngest Barcelona player to debut in the UEFA Youth League, behind Lamine Yamal and Ilaix Moriba, when he started in an eventual 1–1 draw with Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.

Barcelona

In April 2023, Cubarsí trained with the first team for the first time, having been called up by manager Xavi. He signed his first professional contract with the club three months later, on 8 July. He was included in Barcelona's pre-season squad ahead of the 2023–24 season. On 18 January 2024, Cubarsí made his first-team debut against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey, being subbed on in the 46th minute. His first start came in the next match against Real Betis in La Liga, a day before his 17th birthday. Two months later, on 12 March, he was named Player of the Match on his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–1 victory over Napoli in the round of 16 second leg, in which he became the youngest player to debut at 17 years and 50 days in the competition's knockout phase, breaking former Bayern Munich defender David Alaba's previous record of 17 years and 258 days. On 10 April, Cubarsí has become the youngest defender to start in the quarter-finals of the Champions League aged only 17 years and 79 days breaking the previous record held by CSKA Moscow's Georgi Shchennikov. On 9 May, Barcelona announced that they had reached an…

Cubarsí has represented Spain from under-15 to senior level. In March 2024, he was called up to the senior Spain team for the first time by coach Luis de la Fuente, debuting in a 1–0 friendly loss to Colombia. He came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute replacing Aymeric Laporte, he became the youngest defender to ever play for Spain at the age of 17 years one month and 28 days, breaking the record previously held by Sergio Ramos in 2005. On 27 May 2024, Cubarsí was named in the 29-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament. In July 2024, Cubarsí was selected in the Spain under-23 squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics. He and Spain would go on to win the Olympic gold medal at the men's football event in the Olympics.

On 25 May 2026, he was included in Spain's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Following Spain's 1–0 extra-time victory over defending champions Argentina in the final, Cubarsí won the Young Player of the Tournament Award. He is best remembered for a providential 120th-minute clearance denying Argentina's Marcos Senesi, which secured Spain's victory in the final. At 19 years and 178 days old, he became the fourth-youngest player to feature in a World Cup final, behind only Pelé, Giuseppe Bergomi and his teammate Lamine Yamal. He completed the second-most passes throughout the tournament, after compatriot Rodri – 668 out of 690 attempted – with a 97% passing accuracy.…

Club

As of match played 6 September 2026

International

As of match played 19 July 2026

Pau Cubarsí Paredes was born on 22 January 2007 in Bescanó, Girona, Catalonia, to Robert Cubarsí Vilaró and Gloria Paredes Parra. He has an older sister, Irene, who is a physiotherapist. He grew up in the small village of Estanyol in Bescanó, where four generations of his father's family had operated the family carpentry business, Fusteria Cubarsí, since 1905. Cubarsí is a great-great-grand-nephew of the painter Ginés Parra. Cubarsí's first language is Catalan. While playing for Spain at the Olympic Games in 2024, he said that he rarely gave interviews because he was not fluent in Spanish, having only ever lived in Catalonia and used his native language. When attending high school, he trained in the morning and attended classes from 3 p.m. Teachers from Lleó XIII school would go to La Masia (football academy in Barcelona) and give classes until eight in the evening. If he missed the class owing to games, he would ask for notes, or just pay extra attention the following day. After graduation from high school, he sat university entrance exams and was due to begin a university degree in business administration and management in September 2025. He planned to leave his residence at La Masia, where he had lived through his teenage years, and share an apartment with his sister in Barcelona.