Xavi Simons

Xavier Quentin Shay Simons (born 21 April 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Netherlands national team.

For the English footballer, see Xavier Simons.
Xavi Simons
Simons with Paris Saint-Germain U19 in 2020
Personal information
Full name Xavier Quentin Shay Simons[1]
Date of birth (2003-04-21) 21 April 2003[2]
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, right winger
Team information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
(on loan from Paris Saint-Germain)
Number 20
Youth career
2008–2010 CD Thader
2010–2019 Barcelona
2019–2022 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Paris Saint-Germain 7 (0)
2022–2023 PSV 34 (19)
2023– Paris Saint-Germain 0 (0)
2023– → RB Leipzig (loan) 7 (3)
International career‡
2018 Netherlands U15 5 (1)
2019 Netherlands U16 3 (0)
2019 Netherlands U17 6 (3)
2021 Netherlands U19 6 (3)
2022– Netherlands U21 2 (0)
2022– Netherlands 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:17, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:21, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Originally a product of Barcelona's La Masia, he signed for Paris Saint-German (PSG) in July 2019, where he would initially join the under-19s before making his professional debut in February 2021. With PSG, Simons won a Ligue 1 title and a Coupe de France. In 2022, he returned to the Netherlands with PSV, winning the KNVB Cup, Johan Cruyff Shield, and Eredivisie top scorer award in his only season at the club. In 2023, he returned to PSG before being immediately loaned out to RB Leipzig in Germany.

Initially playing for the Netherlands at youth level, Simons received his first call-up to the national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut in a 3–1 win over the United States in the round of 16 as the Netherlands crashed out in the quarter-finals.

Early life

Born in Amsterdam, Xavi is the son of Dutch former footballer Regillio Simons, who is of Surinamese descent.[3][4] Xavi's older brother Faustino (born 1996), who also played football, shares the same birthday as him.[5]

Club career

Early career

Simons joined the youth setup of Barcelona in 2010 from Club Deportivo Thader of Alicante,[6] and quickly progressed to become one of the Catalan club's most highly-rated youth players, with English club Chelsea, as well as Real Madrid, reportedly attempting to sign him at a young age.[7][8] Described as a "prodigy", he joined the group of players represented by agent Mino Raiola in 2017.[9][10]

Paris Saint-Germain
Xavi with Paris Saint-Germain in 2020

In July 2019, Simons moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), having failed to agree a new contract with Barcelona.[11][12] His three-year contract with the Parisian club was reportedly worth up to €1 million annually.[13][14] On 10 February 2021, Simons made his professional debut for PSG, coming on as a substitute for Julian Draxler in a 1–0 Coupe de France win over Caen.[15][16] He made his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Strasbourg two months later.[17] On 19 May 2021, he won his first professional trophy, the Coupe de France.[18]

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Simons was included in the first-team preparation and pre-season by manager Mauricio Pochettino.[19] On 14 July 2021, he came off the bench and scored a goal in a 4–0 friendly win over Le Mans at the Camp des Loges.[20] He scored another goal in a 2–2 friendly draw against Chambly three days later at the same ground.[21] On 18 August, Simons was sent back to train with the under-19 squad coached by Zoumana Camara.[22] He eventually made his first appearance of the season for PSG in a 3–0 cup win over Feignies Aulnoye on 19 December, his first ever professional start.[23] On 3 January 2022, Simons recorded his first senior assist in a 4–0 cup win over Vannes, a pass for Kylian Mbappé.[24] His first league appearance of the 2021–22 season came in a 1–1 away draw to Lyon on 9 January, where he came on as a 69th minute substitute.[25] On 31 January, Simons missed the final penalty in a 6–5 penalty shoot-out defeat to Nice in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.[26] On 11 February, he made his first league start in a 1–0 win over Rennes at the Parc des Princes.[27] At the end of the season, Simons won the Ligue 1 title, his first professional league title.[28]

PSV

On 28 June 2022, Simons signed for Eredivisie club PSV on a five-year contract.[29] Although he was initially expected to extend his contract with PSG and join PSV on loan,[30] the situation changed when PSV no longer wanted a loan deal.[31] However, PSG negotiated a reported €6 million buy-back clause in Simons's contract, effective in 2023.[32][33]

Simons scored his first career goal on his PSV debut, a 5–3 win over rivals Ajax in the Johan Cruyff Shield on 30 July 2022.[34] On 7 August, in his first Eredivisie game, he provided an assist for Johan Bakayoko, who opened the scoring in a 4–1 victory against newly-promoted Emmen.[35] Simons made his European debut with PSV in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, and scored his first European goal in a 5–1 UEFA Europa League group stage victory away to Zürich on 6 October.[36][37] In the 2023 KNVB Cup final, he provided the assist for Thorgan Hazard's goal as PSV came out victorious over Ajax on penalties.[38] In the final match of the 2022–23 Eredivisie season on 28 May 2023, Simons scored a brace, including a stoppage-time winner, in a 2–1 victory over AZ, securing second place for PSV and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers for the following season.[39][40] With nineteen goals, he shared the Eredivisie top scorer award with Anastasios Douvikas of Utrecht.[41] Simons finished the club season with twenty-two goals and twelve assists in forty-eight games across all competitions, and won two Player of the Month awards in August 2022 and March 2023.[42][43][44]

On 16 July 2023, it was announced by PSV that Simons had departed the club's training camp in order to finalize a transfer back to Paris Saint-Germain.[45]

Return to Paris Saint-Germain

On 19 July 2023, Simons returned to Paris Saint-Germain, signing a four-year contract after the club triggered a reported €6 million buy-back clause in his PSV contract, where Simons had the final say on his return.[46][47]

Loan to RB Leipzig

Immediately after being signed back by Paris Saint-Germain, Simons was loaned out to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for the 2023–24 season.[48][49] He was assigned the number 20 jersey.[47] On 12 August 2023, he made his debut for the club in a 3–0 win over Bayern Munich in the 2023 DFL-Supercup.[50] On 25 August, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 5–1 win over VfB Stuttgart, a match in which he also recorded two assists.[51] On 25 October, Simons scored his first goal in the Champions League in a 3–1 victory over Red Star Belgrade.[52]

International career

Simons has represented the Netherlands at under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 and under-21 levels.[3]

On 21 October 2022, Simons was included in the pre-selection of the Netherlands national team for the first time in his career.[53] On 11 November, he was officially called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by head coach Louis van Gaal.[54] The youngest player in the Dutch squad, Simons was described as a "somewhat surprise inclusion".[55][56] On 3 December, he made his Netherlands and World Cup debut in a 3–1 win over the United States in the round of 16.[57] He became the youngest player to feature in the knockout stages of the World Cup for the Netherlands.[58] In the quarter-finals, the Dutch suffered elimination at the hands of Argentina.[59]

Personal life

At the age of 13, Simons had his first advertising contract with Nike. He switched to Adidas in 2021 before joining Puma in 2023.[60][61] In August 2018, he featured in a Nike commercial titled "Awaken the Phantom" alongside players such as Neymar, Ronaldinho, and Kevin De Bruyne.[62] During his youth career, Simons amassed a large social media following on Instagram; he had over two million followers on the platform in 2019, at the age of 16.[63] In March 2020, Simons was named on Goal's "NxGn 2020" list of the fifty best wonderkids in world football.[64] He was also included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2020" in October.[65]

In 2022, following the death of Mino Raiola, Rafaela Pimenta became Simons's agent.[66] In May 2023, he changed his representation to Darren Dein.[67]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 October 2023[68]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain 2020–21 Ligue 1 1010000020
2021–22 Ligue 1 6030000090
Total 70400000110
PSV 2022–23 Eredivisie 3419419[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 3]14822
RB Leipzig (loan) 2023–24 Bundesliga 83103[lower-alpha 4]11[lower-alpha 5]0134
Career total 492291122217226
  1. Includes Coupe de France, KNVB Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International
As of match played 13 October 2023[69]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 202210
202370
Total80

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

PSV

RB Leipzig

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. UEFA.com. "Xavi Simons | Netherlands | UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. Kelly, Ryan (24 July 2019). "Who is Xavi Simons? La Masia wonderkid who broke Barcelona hearts to join PSG". Goal. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. "Onderhandeling voor bondscoach gesprongen" [Negotiation for national coach jumped]. Suriname Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. "Who Is Faustino Simons? Everything To Know About Xavi Simons Brother - ZGR.net". www.zgr.net. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. "Former Thader youngster Xavi Simons makes his debut for PSG". The Leader Newspaper. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. Webb, Tom (8 January 2016). "Chelsea Following the Progress of 12-Year-Old Barcelona Starlet Xavi Simons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. Sunderland, Tom (16 January 2016). "Real Madrid Transfer News: Xavi Simons Plan Reported to 'Strike Back' at Ban". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  9. Carey, Stuart James and Mark. "50 to watch - Xavi Simons: The child prodigy at La Masia is evolving into a genuine star". The Athletic. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  10. "Revealed: Barcelona blame Raiola for losing Xavi Simons to PSG". OneFootball. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  11. Llorens, Moises; Marsden, Sam (23 July 2019). "Barca lose Dutch youngster Xavi Simons to PSG". ESPN. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. "Simons explains his Barca exit: "Everyone dreams about Messi, but..."". BeSoccer. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  13. "Xavi Simons is on €1 million-per-year at Paris Saint-Germain". GiveMeSport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  14. "Xavi Simons signs his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  15. "Debut for Xavi Simons". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  16. "Caen vs. Paris Saint-Germain". ESPN. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  17. "Strasbourg vs. PSG". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. Zavala, Steve (20 May 2021). "Xavi Simons Earned First Career Trophy Win with PSGs Triumph in the 2021 Coupe de France final". PSG Talk. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  19. "Premier match amical pour le PSG" [First friendly match for PSG]. ParisTeam.fr (in French). 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  20. "Paris Saint-Germain V Le Mans" (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  21. Barbaud, Maxime (17 July 2021). "Amical : Chambly arrache le match nul contre le PSG" [Friendly: Chambly grabs a draw against PSG]. Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  22. "Xavi Simons and Edouard Michut return to PSG U19s, Ismaël Gharbi stays with the seniors". Get French Football News. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  23. "Feignies vs. Paris Saint-Germain". ESPN. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  24. Johnson, Jonathan (3 January 2022). "PSG star Kylian Mbappe opens 2022 in style with 17-minute hat trick in Coupe de France blowout". CBS Sports. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  25. "Xavi Simons gets a chance to impress as PSG draw with Lyon". Football Oranje. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  26. "Nice eliminate holders PSG on penalties from French Cup". ESPN. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  27. "Xavi Simons makes history in PSG victory". Football Oranje. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  28. Whitehead, Luke Bosher and Jacob. "PSG crowned Ligue 1 champions after draw against Lens". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  29. "He's here to stay | PSV langdurig vast" (in Dutch). PSV. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  30. "Xavi Simons doit prolonger au PSG avant d'être prêté au PSV Eindhoven" [Xavi Simons should extend with PSG before being loaned to PSV Eindhoven]. L'Équipe (in French). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  31. "Mercato: le PSG a intégré une clause de rachat dans le contrat de Xavi Simons" [Transfer Market: PSG has integrated a buy-back clause in Xavi Simons's contract]. RMC Sport (in French). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  32. "Xavi Simons quitte le PSG pour le PSV Eindhoven sans passer par un prêt" [Xavi Simons leaves PSG for PSV Eindhoven without passing by a loan]. L'Équipe (in French). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  33. "PSG : la clause de rachat de Xavi Simons activée !". Transfert Foot Mercato. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  34. "Ajax - PSV". PSV.nl. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  35. "PSV coast to an easy victory over FC Emmen in their first game of the Eredivisie season". NL Times.
  36. "Zurich 1 - 5 PSV: Finished". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  37. "PSV breeze past FC Zurich in the Europa League | NL Times". nltimes.nl. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  38. "PSV retain Dutch Cup with shoot-out win over Ajax". sportstar.thehindu.com. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  39. "PSV Beat AZ Alkmaar". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  40. "Youngster Xavi Simons earns Champions League qualification and Golden Boot with last minute wonder goal". SPORTbible. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  41. "Simons and Douvikas share Eredivisie top scorer award". Football Oranje. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  42. Kenmare, Jack (3 September 2022). "A compilation of Xavi Simons ripping up the Eredivisie with PSV is unreal, he's a serious baller". SPORTbible. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  43. "Xavi Simons named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for March". Eredivisie. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  44. "Midfielder Xavi Simons is loaned to Leipzig after returning to PSG". USA Today. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  45. "Xavi Simons leaves PSV to re-join Paris Saint Germain". PSV Eindhoven. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  46. "Xavi Simons returns to Paris Saint-Germain and is loaned out to RB Leipzig". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  47. Rutzler, Peter. "Simons to join RB Leipzig on loan after returning to PSG". The Athletic. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  48. "Xavi Simons joins RB Leipzig!". RB Leipzig. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  49. "RB Leipzig sign Paris Saint-German's Xavi Simons on loan". Bundesliga. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  50. Veth, Manuel. "Despite Harry Kane, Bayern Munich Defeated 3-0 In DFL Supercup By Leipzig". Forbes. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  51. "Simons and Openda proving perfect replacements for Szoboszlai and Nkunku at Leipzig". Bundesliga. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  52. "WATCH: Xavi Simons, that is ridiculous! PSG loanee scores Champions League screamer for RB Leipzig against Crvena zvezda". Goal.com. 25 October 2023.
  53. "Nieuwe namen in voorselectie Oranje: Simons, Van de Ven en Bakker". nos.nl. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  54. "Van Gaal maakt 26-koppige WK-selectie bekend". KNVB. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  55. Ben Hayward (3 December 2022). "Ex-Barcelona starlet Xavi Simons makes Netherlands debut in World Cup last 16". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  56. Stewart, Ben (17 December 2022). "World Cup: The top 10 youngest players at Qatar 2022: Gavi, Bellingham, Simons..." Planet Football. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  57. "Afwachtend Oranje met vleugje totaalvoetbal via VS naar kwartfinales". nos.nl. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  58. "Netherlands Youngster Xavi Simons Wears Xavi Only on Kit in 2022 World Cup". Footy Headlines. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  59. "Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (Dec 9, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  60. "Nike Have Apparently Lost PSG Youngster Xavi Simons". Footy Headlines. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  61. "A NEW KING JOINS PUMA. PUMA UNVEILS DUTCH PHENOM XAVI SIMONS AS THE FACE OF THE ICONIC KING FRANCHISE". Puma. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  62. "Nike's New 'Awaken The Phantom' Advert Is An Absolute Corker". SPORTbible. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  63. Rossingh, Danielle (13 November 2019). "Xavi Simons: The Dutch soccer prodigy with two million Instagram followers". CNN. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  64. "NxGn 2020: The 50 best wonderkids in football". Goal. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  65. Christenson, Marcus; Powell, Jim; Blight, Garry (7 October 2020). "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  66. "Young prodigy Xavi Simons makes shocking decision ahead of transfer window". Mundo Deportivo USA. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  67. Chambers, Lucas (3 June 2023). "4 reasons why Arsenal will sign Xavi Simons this summer". Pain in the Arsenal. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  68. Xavi Simons at Soccerway
  69. "Xavi Simons". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  70. Bosher, Luke; Whitehead, Jacob (23 April 2022). "PSG crowned Ligue 1 champions after draw against Lens". The Athletic. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  71. "Mbappe stars in Coupe de France final as PSG down Monaco". Marca. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  72. "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  73. Lisjak, Mitja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  74. "First Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month award for Xavi Simons". Eredivisie. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  75. Ikechukwu, Chukwu (5 September 2023). "RB Leipzig Starlet Xavi Simons Bags Another Prestigious Award in the Netherlands". SportsBrief. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  76. "Xavi Simons wins September 2023 Bundesliga Goal of the Month!". Bundesliga. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Xavi Simons.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.