"To wear this crest and this jersey is the most important thing in the world"

Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi, one of the 17-year-old surprise packages of the season, admitted that "of course" he feels the pressure of playing for the first team, which he described as "a real dream".

This is what he said in an interview with the club's media, in which he explained his feelings after becoming a permanent fixture for Xavi Hernandez.

"Of course I feel the pressure. But when you're a Barca player you always have that extra pressure, because wearing this crest and this shirt is one of the most important things in the world. So, yes, we do play with that pressure, but I think it makes us better footballers. That's how we showed it," he said.

Cubarsi said he was "proud" to be making his breakthrough into the first team and thanked Xavi Hernandez for his confidence in players from the youth academy such as himself and Lamine Yamal, who is also playing a leading role at just 16 years of age.

It was precisely his coach who highlighted the technical quality and calmness that the player shows on the pitch, stating that when the Gerona centre-back has the ball, his heart rate drops on the bench.

 

March 19, 2024

"I would say that it comes naturally to me. It's my game, it's how I've always played," the Catalan defender replied when asked about his coach's words.

On a collective level, Cubarsi stressed that the objectives until the end of the season are to try to win the Champions League and not to write off La Liga as lost. "People may think we've lost La Liga, but we're still fighting for two titles. We are Barca, we must always fight until the end, and that's what we will do", the future Spanish international recalled.

To fight for the European competition, Barca will have to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, a tie that, according to the centre-back from Estanyol (Girona), will "push all the players to the limit", which is why his team will have to "give their all" to reach the semi-finals.

"The first half against Napoli was very good and now against PSG we will have to play a very complete game, with the right intensity. Clearly, we will have to try to stop their attackers and be good in front of goal," he said.