One of the major priorities for FC Barcelona this season will be to ensure good progress within the UEFA Champions League. A competition that the Catalan giants have suffered in over recent seasons, they believe they can do much better this time around with their reinforced side.
However, there was a dilemma that existed in terms of the final selection of players that will represent Barcelona in the Champions League. Alas, the final squad has been unveiled, and instead of new Barcelona Atletic recruit Mikayil Faye, it is Pau Cubarsi from the subsidiary side that has been chosen as the defensive prodigy to aid Barca in the European competition.
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, 16-year-old La Masia talent Pau Cubarsi has been chosen by Xavi Hernandez as the “fifth” central defender in the UCL squad behind Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Inigo Martinez, with Marcos Alonso being considered more so a left-back alternative.
Cubarsi’s physical traits, technical brilliance, and maturity beyond his rather tender age were all aspects that Xavi considered before making the final call. While he was always heavily impressed by 19-year-old Mikayil Faye, it appears that he believes Cubarsi to be the one more prepared to take this challenge on.
Faye had just recently made his debut with Barca Atletic on Sunday following his return from Senegal, where he was busy ironing out certain bureaucratic issues. His performance was strong and convincing, but it appears Xavi would still like to see more of him despite his inclusion in the first team’s pre-season sessions as well.
It will indeed be interesting to see if Pau Cubarsi gets any minutes in the upcoming group-stage games. Essentially the direct replacement for the loaned-out Eric Garcia, Cubarsi will compete with the first team in Group H where Barcelona will face off against FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Royal Antwerp to determine the top two teams to progress to the knockout stages.
