"His level is incredible". That is how Hansi Flick spoke of Xavi Espart in Paris. Barça lost the first match of the season against Paris Saint-Germain, but the Barcelona-born full-back shone with his own light at the Parc des Princes. He left the midfield to return to the right-back position and put on an exhibition, both in defense and in attack, and he also scored his first Champions League goal. In case there was any doubt, Espart has earned a place in the first team, he will be a starter in the 'Clásico' on Sunday, and even Luis de la Fuente is already thinking about calling him up for the senior Spanish national team. "He played a fantastic match, in the first and second half," Flick continued, praising him.

Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Bernal and now… Xavi Espart. His name has already appeared in the newspapers and sports talk shows, but this Sunday he took another step in his meteoric rise to the first team. The Barcelona-born footballer –who has started in all five League matches this season– made his goalscoring debut with Barça in the victory at Llevant's ground (2-4). "He is a player who played on the inside until he was a cadet. He improved plays when the ball passed through his feet and had the footballing intelligence to organize. He ended up playing many minutes because he was very reliable. When he was older, they tried him out as a full-back because he has great vision for building up the play and could end up occupying more interior positions during the match," explains a former youth coach of his to ARA.