Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi has signed a contract extension with the club through to 2029.
Cubarsi’s previous contract had been due to expire in 2027, having last signed an extension in May. This was the longest contract a player under the age of 18 could sign, according to Spanish law, but the defender turned 18 in January and has now agreed a longer-term deal.
The teenager enjoyed a breakthrough season during the 2023-24 campaign after making his senior debut at the age of 16. He made 19 La Liga appearances and established himself as a first-team regular during the second half of the season, and he was rewarded with his international debut for Spain in March.
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He has remained a consistent starter under Hansi Flick this term, featuring in all 23 of Barcelona’s La Liga fixtures and all eight of their Champions League matches.
The Athletic reported Manchester City had previously shown an interest in signing Cubarsi but his connection to Barcelona and the pathway to the first-team squad led to him agreeing a contract extension at the club, with the Catalan-born defender a lifelong Barcelona supporter.
The extension he agreed in May, which upgraded him from an academy contract to a first team one, also included a €500million release clause.
The Spain international becomes the latest Barcelona player to commit his future to the club, with Pedri and Gavi both signing new deals through to 2030 in January.
‘Comparisons with Pique and Puyol are not far wrong’
Analysis from The Athletic’s Barcelona writer Laia Cervello Herrero
It was just last year that Pau Cubarsi’s name was only familiar to the most dedicated followers of the youth programmes of Barcelona or Spain’s national teams. It was only in January 2024 that the defender, then 16, made his senior debut off the bench in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey against third-tier side Unionistas de Salamanca.
He has not looked back.
Comparisons with Barca predecessors Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol are not far wrong.
Cubarsi made his La Liga bow on January 21, the day before he turned 17, and went on to play 24 times for Barcelona over the second half of the season, becoming a crucial member of then-manager Xavi’s team.
He took his first Champions League steps in the second leg of the round of 16 tie against Napoli in March, performing brilliantly against the Italians’ highly-rated striker Victor Osimhen — not many are named player of the match on their elite European debut. Then, in the first leg of the quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain the following month, he also handled Kylian Mbappe admirably.
Calmness is so key to Cubarsi’s game. The way he plays matches without rushing. As if, in the end, football really is just a game and he is just a kid out to have a good time. He takes his time on the ball and rarely picks a bad pass.
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