Xavi Espart: The Versatile Barcelona Star Making His Mark

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

The Catalan capital is home, La Masia his second. He walked through its doors as an eight-year-old midfielder and grew up in the same age groups as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal. While others settled into one role, Espart never really did. Coaches pushed him around the pitch; he just kept shining.

By 16, he was already jumping age groups, playing in the UEFA Youth League with the U19s. One week he was in midfield, the next he was filling in at right-back. The label stuck: versatile, intelligent, reliable.

The treble kid Flick couldn’t ignore

Everything changed when Juliano Belletti took over the youth side.

Espart became a pillar of a team that stormed to a domestic and European treble in 2024-25, usually starting at right-back. On the biggest youth stage, he delivered. He scored and assisted in a 3-2 win over Newcastle and then hit the winner against Paris Saint-Germain in the continental competition. Those nights pushed his name up the club’s internal reports.

Soon after, Hansi Flick called.

The timing looked perfect. The reality was brutal. Espart spent the opening weeks of the season on the bench, close to a debut but not quite there, and then a knee injury cut him down. Three months out. Momentum gone, chance delayed.

Flick, though, didn’t forget.

Thrown into the fire at St James’ Park

Barcelona were 1-0 down to Newcastle at St James’ Park in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in March when Flick finally turned to the academy boy.

Minute 88. Scoreline against them. Stadium roaring. Espart replaced captain Ronald Araujo and walked into a storm.

He didn’t shrink.

Tracking Joe Willock all the way to the byline, he timed a sliding challenge perfectly, sprang back up and moved the ball quickly into Lamine Yamal’s feet. Minutes later, Barça equalised. The debut was short but revealing: no panic, no fear, just clean decisions in chaos.

"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 his first start. Ninety minutes in a 5-2 La Liga win over Sevilla at Camp Nou. Sevilla pressed him, rushed him, forced a few sloppy touches, but he fought every duel and slowly settled. As the game stretched, he grew. The ball started to stick. The passes became braver.

He would only make four more league appearances in that title-winning campaign, but the message was clear: Flick trusted him.

"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."

Europe conquered, holidays cancelled

The summer belonged to Spain’s U19s. It also belonged to Espart.

Playing in his natural habitat in midfield, he ran games as Spain swept through the European Championship in Wales without conceding a single goal. He glided past markers, hunted the ball, kept it moving. When Spain beat the hosts 7-0 in their opener, he teed the ball up with a delicate touch and smashed in his first of the tournament. In the semi-final against Croatia, he struck again with a 12th-minute opener.

Often he would receive the ball, lift his head and see all 11 opponents in his eyeline. It didn’t matter. A threaded pass through the middle, a quick one-two to slip in behind, or a direct burst between defenders – he kept finding ways to crack games open.

He finished the tournament in the Team of the Tournament. Then he went back to Barcelona and made a decision most teenagers wouldn’t.

Officially promoted to the first team and given the No 12 shirt, Espart reportedly ditched his summer holiday to maintain the rhythm from the Euros. He stayed, trained and pushed. Flick rewarded him with a run at right-back throughout pre-season.

"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."

In a friendly against Birmingham, he looked like he’d been there for years. Composed on the ball, tight to his man, aggressive in duels. Whether stepping inside as an inverted full-back or drifting into midfield to dictate tempo, he made it all look natural.

Flick noticed. The German said the teenager "has made it clear to us that he is a top-level player."

Barça’s problem position, unexpected solution

Right-back has been a headache for Barcelona. Money went on Rodri, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi in the summer, leaving Jules Kounde and Joao Cancelo as the obvious options on that flank.

So of course the answer, for now, has come on the opposite side.

Espart has started all four of Barça’s La Liga matches this season at left-back, pushing Alejandro Balde out of the XI. It’s not where he made his name. It’s where he’s making his case.

He looked assured against Elche and claimed his first assist, fizzing a diagonal pass to Fermin on the edge of the box to complete a 5-0 win.

Four days later, he went up a level against Athletic Club. He relished the physical battles, stepped into midfield to help build attacks and, when the space opened, drove straight through the middle. One superb cross found Raphinha in a prime position, only for the Brazilian’s header to crash against the post.

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

Flick’s verdict matched the eye test.

"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. I’m very happy with him. Like all players, he has room for improvement."

Espart and Raphinha combined again in the 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano. Drifting into the half-space, Espart played a sharp pass into his captain, who burst through to score the equaliser. Same calm, same clarity, different side of the pitch.

A full-back who thinks like a midfielder

Espart’s game has always been built on reading situations before others. At La Masia, his positional sense, scanning and awareness on the ball marked him out as a midfielder. Those traits transferred smoothly to right-back. Now they’re anchoring him on the left.

He doesn’t bomb down the touchline like a traditional overlapping full-back. Instead, he tucks inside, trades quick passes, slides into the inside channel and dribbles 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 never hides from contact. Wingers find him in their faces, body-to-body, before he nicks the ball and immediately looks forward. In both midfield and full-back roles, his passing carries threat and his quick decisions keep Barça’s tempo high.

His adaptability is striking. Midfielder to right-back. Right-back to left-back. Different foot, same composure.

"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 always going to come once Flick spoke.

"When I see Xavi play, I really like his confidence on the ball," the Barça 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 started at left-back, blossomed on the right and then, under Pep Guardiola, moved into midfield. Joachim Low, with Flick as his assistant, followed that blueprint on the way to the 2014 World Cup title.

Espart is not Lahm. But the template is there.

Close control. Calm under pressure. Tactical intelligence. A comfort in multiple zones of the pitch. Flick clearly sees in him the potential to become his own all-purpose solution, a player who can quietly fix problems wherever they appear.

The early signs support that vision.

Day by day at the best team in the world

Espart has played every minute of Barça’s first four La Liga matches this season. Flick, wary of burning him out, left him on the bench for the Champions League win over Feyenoord. The message was not punishment, but protection.

The hierarchy at left-back has shifted. Espart has moved ahead of Balde, yet Cancelo’s presence means Flick still has the option to reshuffle if needed. The competition will not ease.

"For now, I'm happy, but football is a day-by-day thing, and I'll keep giving 100% to stay here," Espart 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 – his future role remains open. What isn’t in doubt is his importance. For Flick, a coach who values structure and flexibility, a Barcelona boy who can do it all might be exactly the kind of player a new era is built around.