Barca's Champions League breakout star on Man City's radar

Barcelona centre back Pau Cubarsi was crowned man of the match on his Champions League debut this week as the Catalan side overcame Napoli to take their place in the draw for the quarter-finals.

A season that seemed to be fizzling out has suddenly had new life breathed into it, and a lot of the excitement is being generated around Cubarsi, a 17-year-old homegrown defender whose performances have captivated Barca fans in recent weeks.

The teenager was playing UEFA Youth League football as recently as December but has stepped into the breach for Xavi’s crisis-hit squad in 2024.

Cubarsi comes from nowhere to breathe life into Barca’s season

He has emerged from nowhere, making his debut in the Copa del Rey in January, and is now talked about as one of the top emerging defenders in the European game.

READ MORE: Osimhen raises RED FLAG as Napoli crash out to Barcelona

Cubarsi’s rise has not gone unnoticed with teams in the Premier League long aware of his talents; Manchester United and Chelsea have both been credited with interest in the past.

And former Barcelona manager and current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reported to be keen on adding the highly-regarded stopper to his squad.

Sport previously claimed that City wanted to sign Cubarsi and send him back to Spain on loan to sister club Girona. However current regulations are working in Barca’s favour.

British clubs are only permitted to sign players aged under 18 from abroad in limited circumstances owing to post-Brexit trade arrangements so City would likely have to wait until next January, when he turns 18, at the earliest to sign him.

Barca want Cubarsi to sign new deal

Barca higher-ups are optimistic of tying Cubarsi down to a new deal with talks scheduled with the player’s representatives about a new, long-term deal which would see his buyout clause stretched high.

The Spain underage international signed a contract last summer extending to 2026 after Xavi promoted him to train with the first team and it contains a paltry €10 million release clause.

He is still unable to sign a long-term deal but Barca would like him to sign until 2030 and intend to insert a €1bn release clause in the agreement.

It was reported that Paris Saint-Germain sent scouts to the game against Napoli, won 3-1 by Barca, in order to watch potential Kylian Mbappe replacement Lamine Yamal as well as Cubarsi.

However, Sport is confident that he will remain with Barcelona for the long term as he is a big fan of the club and wants to become a star for them.

City look like they are going to be frustrated in the transfer market and be unable to repeat the trick which saw them take Eric Garcia, Adrian Bernabe and Juan Larios from the Barca youth ranks.