Xavi Espart: Barcelona's Versatile Rising Star

Xavi Espart grew up with Barcelona on his doorstep and La Masia in his bloodstream.

The Catalan capital is his home, the club his reference point. At eight, he walked into Barça’s academy. By 16, he was already sharing a dressing room with Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal, drifting between midfield and right-back and stepping into the UEFA Youth League with the U19s.

That versatility would shape everything that followed.

From treble-winning kid to Flick’s radar

Once Juliano Belletti took charge of the youth side, Espart’s role exploded. Mostly at right-back, he became a pillar of a team that swept a domestic and European treble in 2024-25.

On the continental stage he delivered in big moments. He scored and assisted in a 3-2 win over Newcastle, then struck the winner against Paris Saint-Germain. Those nights pushed him out of the academy bubble and onto Hansi Flick’s list.

The promotion call came quickly.

At the start of last season, Espart hovered on the edge of a dream. Flick named him in senior squads, but he watched from the bench, waiting. Then came the knee injury. Cruel timing. Three months gone before he had even taken a first touch in La Liga.

Flick didn’t forget him.

A debut in the fire at St James’ Park

Barcelona trailed 1-0 at St James’ Park in the Champions League last-16 first leg in March when Flick turned to the local kid. Minute 88. Away. Under pressure.

Espart replaced captain Ronald Araujo and went straight into the storm. His first big action summed up his personality: he drove Joe Willock all the way to the byline, slid in hard, won the ball cleanly, sprang back up and fed Lamine Yamal. Moments later, Barça equalised.

The debut was short, but it was loud.

"When I saw myself coming onto the pitch, I couldn't believe it. I enjoyed it so much and my emotions were running high," he told the club’s website afterwards.

Five days later, Flick handed him a full 90 minutes in a 5-2 win over Sevilla at Camp Nou. Sevilla pressed high, rushed him on the ball, and the teenager showed a few raw touches. He also refused to hide. He tackled, chased, kept offering for passes and grew into the match as the minutes ticked by.

Then, just as quickly, he was back to the fringes. Four more league appearances in a title-winning campaign, but Flick’s trust never wavered.

"For a young player like me, the manager's trust in me has meant everything," Espart said. "His confidence in me has allowed me to stay calm, without pressure, and play the way I know how."

Running Spain’s midfield in Wales

The summer changed everything.

Espart returned to midfield with Spain’s U19s and dominated the European Championship in Wales. He nipped past markers, hunted down possession and dictated the rhythm of matches. Spain didn’t concede a single goal all tournament; he finished in the Team of the Tournament and as a constant in the starting XI.

In the opener, a deft touch set the ball perfectly for him to lash in his first goal in a 7-0 win over the hosts. In the semi-final against Croatia, he struck again with a 12th-minute opener.

Often he would receive the ball, glance up and see all 11 opponents in his line of sight. It rarely fazed him. A vertical pass through the centre, a give-and-go to slip in behind midfield, or a direct burst through defenders — he kept finding solutions and building attacks.

He flew back to Barcelona with a medal, momentum and a clear objective: stay with the first team.

No holiday, no excuses

Officially promoted and given the number 12 shirt, Espart made a choice. He reportedly cut short his summer holiday to keep the rhythm from the Euros and attack pre-season at full tilt.

"I feel Flick's confidence and I want to stay in the first team; you have to take advantage of the opportunities," he said. "Since coming back from the European Championship, I've tried to give 100 per cent here and show that I belong here and what I'm capable of."

The gamble worked. Flick used him at right-back throughout pre-season.

In a friendly against Birmingham, Espart looked like he had been there for years. Composed on the ball, tight to his man, aggressive in the box, he slipped seamlessly between inverted full-back and central organiser. Flick didn’t hide his admiration, calling the teenager "a top-level player."

A problem position, an unexpected solution

Right-back has long nagged at Barcelona. The club’s summer money went on Rodri, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, leaving Jules Kounde and Joao Cancelo as the natural options on that flank.

Logic suggested Espart would back them up on the right.

Flick went the other way.

He pushed the 18-year-old to the opposite side, starting him at left-back in all four of Barça’s La Liga games so far, ahead of Alejandro Balde.

Espart responded like it was his natural home.

He impressed against Elche and claimed his first assist, threading a diagonal pass to Fermin on the edge of the box to complete a 5-0 rout.

Four days later came a sterner test: Athletic Club. Espart didn’t shrink. He threw himself into duels, drove through the middle when space opened and helped build attacks from deep. One superb cross picked out Raphinha in the area, only for the Brazilian’s header to crash against the post.

"Xavi Espart is incredible," Joan Garcia said after the 2-0 win.

Flick echoed the sentiment.

"I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing, even a little surprised by how he’s playing at left-back," the coach said. "He’s always focused. He’s a player with great quality and, in one-on-one situations in defence, he’s top-class."

Days later, Espart again combined with Raphinha, slipping into the half-space and fizzing a quick pass into his captain, who surged through to score in a 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano.

A different kind of full-back

The traits that defined him in midfield — reading of the game, smart positioning, sharp awareness — now power his work as a full-back on either side.

He doesn’t bomb to the byline like a classic overlapping defender. He prefers to step inside, knit quick combinations and glide towards the box before releasing a teammate.

"I can be a different kind of full-back, one who can link up with teammates centrally instead of being a wing-back," he explained.

He relishes physical contact. Wingers find him right in their faces, challenging, snapping into tackles, then immediately looking to play forward. His passing keeps the tempo high, whether from midfield, right-back or now left-back.

His transformation has been relentless: midfielder to right-back, then straight across to the left at the start of the season without fuss.

"You've all seen it: he's spectacular with the ball, he can play at full-back and in midfield... and he always does it perfectly," Cubarsi told Marca.

Flick’s Lahm echo

The comparisons were inevitable once Flick spoke.

"When I see Xavi play, I really like his confidence on the ball," the coach said in the summer. "He reminds me of Philipp Lahm, as he can play as a No. 6 or a 2. I like to see him with and without the ball."

Lahm’s story is well known: early years at left-back, peak years on the right, then a reinvention as a midfielder under Pep Guardiola. Joachim Low, with Flick as his assistant, followed that blueprint at the 2014 World Cup and lifted the trophy.

Espart is at the beginning of his own version. Close control, game management, positional intelligence — the tools are there. Flick clearly sees a utility player he can move like a chess piece.

For now, the teenager is simply playing. Every minute of Barça’s first four La Liga matches went through him at left-back, before Flick hit pause and left him on the bench for the Champions League win over Feyenoord, wary of burning him out too early.

That balance will define his season. He has jumped ahead of Balde in the current hierarchy, but Cancelo’s presence shows Flick still has options and intends to rotate.

Espart knows the reality.

"For now, I'm happy, but football is a day-by-day thing, and I'll keep giving 100% to stay here," he said last month. "It's very difficult to make it here, but what's really tough is staying here because of the high standards set by these players.

"At the end of the day, this is Barca, the best team in the world, and the demands are there every single day.

"You can never let your guard down."

Left-back, right-back, or back in midfield — wherever he lands, his intelligence and versatility give Flick something priceless: a La Masia kid who can hold three positions in one shirt.