The 2023-24 season was a fairytale ride for the Barcelona youngster, Pau Cubarsi. The 17-year-old center-back went from being a reserve team defender to becoming one of the established stars in the first team and impressing at the highest levels in Europe.
Thus, it was a shock when he did not make it to the Spanish national team squad for the UEFA EURO 2024. However, to compensate for this, he has been included in the preliminary list to represent Spain at the Paris Olympic Games.
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the RFEF has released some statements from the youngster in which he has addressed his feelings on making this pre-list:
“I feel calm, I try to be myself and not deviate from who I really am, my family helps me a lot with that. I approach it as always, like just another youth player working every day to improve and try to achieve a goal like the Olympic Games, which would be amazing.”
The youngster also shared his satisfaction with the last season that he had with FC Barcelona:
“It’s been a very good season. Now we face the Olympic Games, one of the biggest challenges a footballer can have, and we approach it with a lot of excitement and hard work.”
Cubarsi was also happy with the composition of the other players present in the pre-list: “There are some younger and some older players; we are a good group, a good family, and everyone is helping me a lot.”
The Spaniard has already made his international debut, but these Olympic Games are going to be his first major international tournament, and he was naturally excited for this event: “We are very eager, and I am the most eager of all. We are very excited for the first match to start already.”
Most FC Barcelona fans would have wanted to see him playing in the UEFA EURO 2024, where the Spanish national team is one of the best performers up to now. But the Olympics would also be a good learning opportunity for the young defender, and hopefully, he will be able to keep up his golden form in this tournament as well.
