When Xavi Simons He left Paris Saint Germain in the summer of 2022 after barely playing eleven games with his first team and set off towards his promotion to the PSV Eindhovenwith 22 goals and 11 assists in the 2022-23 season, now consolidated in the Leipzig with six goals and eight more crucial passes to challenge the Manchester City for first place in Group G of the Champions League.
There are 28 goals and 19 assists in less than a year and a half between the two teams that, at 20 years old, have welcomed the expected growth of the talented footballer; the youth team Barcelona who later signed with PSG, but who also had to leave the French champions to justify himself in order to reach the expected dimension So and it is now a reality.
It is still owned by Paris St Germainwho paid four million euros PSV to buy it back this summer and re-transfer it for this season, this time to stronger competition, to the Bundesliga Germany and the Champions League to support the present and future of the young player, who has already capped the Netherlands ten times, including at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The pace has not slowed Leipzig. In 19 games, 18 of them as a starter, over 1,480 minutes, he scored six goals and added another eight goals.
It also shines in the blinding window of the Champions Leaguewith two goals and an assist, which ensured qualification for the round of 16, suggests more, until first place.
He does it at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester Citythe team of the moment, the European champions of last season, the team that had the best series at home on the entire continent 24 wins consecutive games in their territory, until the 1-1 draw with Liverpool Saturday.
There are no calculations other than victory for Leipzig. It is the only formula that the German team has and Xavi Simons To finish at the top of Group G. Estrella Roja and Young Boys are eliminated, the lead is a direct fight with the City. It’s enough for the English team to draw. The German bloc must win First this Tuesday to keep your options in the final appointment.
Recent memory warns: on his last two visits to this stadium Leipzig received two defeats; a total of thirteen goals conceded in 180 minutes, divided into the 90 of 6:3 on September 15, 2021 in the group stage and the 7:0 on March 14, 2023 in the meet back from the round of 16, when Erling Haaland He scored five goals.
It hadn’t arrived yet. Xavi Simons to Leipzig. He was still at PSV Eindhoven, where he proved his worth.
After signing for the Paris St Germain For the 2019-20 season, his jump into the professional elite from Barcelona’s youth academy required an even longer journey through the lower categories, until his debut on December 10th. February from 2021.
In the French Cup, in the thirty-second final, under the direction of Mauricio Pochettino, He made his official debut with the first team of the strong French champions. He was substituted in the 78th minute Julian Draxler. He played ten more duels, all with the Argentine coach, three of them as a starter, between the aforementioned February 10 and the 2021 until May 14, 2022.
There was no room for it Simons at PSG at the time, at the end of his contract. He took part in the following election campaign PSV Eindhovenwith whom he signed until 2027. The Paris Club Rescued a purchase option. And the footballer stood out in a way never seen before as he found confidence and consistency in the Dutch team through a role decisive.
He scored his first goal in his first game Super Cup from the Netherlands, against Ajax. In the third he gave an assist. In the fourth he added two more goals and a crucial pass Armando Obispo. Another double strike in the sixth. On the seventh, another, when he has already acquired the indisputable possession which he now possesses of the Leipzig. Its market value is 55 million euros. Its origins are now undisputed.