Xavi Espart

Xavi Espart
Personal information
Full name Xavi Espart Font[1]
Date of birth (2007-05-21) 21 May 2007
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain[1]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona B
Number 22
Youth career
UE Vilassar de Mar
2010–2026 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Barcelona B 20 (1)
2026– Barcelona 5 (0)
International career‡
2023–2024 Spain U17 7 (0)
2024– Spain U18 4 (0)
2026– Spain U19 10 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner2026 Wales
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:39, 23 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 August 2026

Xavi Espart Font (born 21 May 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back or defensive midfielder for Barcelona Atlètic.

Early life

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Espart joined the youth academy of FC Barcelona at a young age in summer 2010 (age group u10) and progressed through the various youth categories of the club's renowned academy, La Masia. In order to join La Masia, he left his former club UE Vilassar de Mar. During his youth career he developed a reputation for his tactical awareness, technical ability and positional versatility, often being deployed both in defensive (right-back) and midfield roles.[2] Nowadays, he usually plays as a right-back successfully transitioning from his former midflield position; however he emphasizes feeling comfortable in both positions.[3][4]

Club career

Espart made his debut for Barcelona Atlètic on 31 August 2024, a 2–1 away loss to FC Andorra in the Primera Federación.[5]

During the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons he became a regular member of the Barcelona Atlètic squad, contributing both defensively and in the team's build-up play.[2]

On 11 March 2026, Espart made his Champions League debut for the senior team in a 1–1 away draw against Newcastle United in the knockout stage.[6]

On 15 March 2026, Espart made his official La Liga debut as a starter in a 5–2 win against FC Sevilla, playing the full match.[7][8]

His current contract lasts until 2028.[2]

International career

Espart has represented Spain at youth international level.[1] He first appeared for the Spain U17 between 2023 and 2024 before progressing to the Spain U18 in 2024.[9]

In July 2026, Espart was included in Paco Gallardo´s Spain U19 squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Wales.[10] Reverted to his developmental central midfield role for the tournament, he featured as a regular starter as Spain completed an undefeated run without conceding a single goal. He scored a goal in the opening group stage victory against host nation Wales and in the semifinal against Croatia and recorded three assists across the competition. In the final on 11 July, 2026 Espart played when Spain defeated Germany 2-0 to claim their tenth U19 European title.[11][12][13] Following the tournament, UEFA´s Technical Observers selected him for the 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament for his role in dictating play between defense and attack. [14][15]

Style of play

Espart is known for his versatility, being capable of operating both as a right-back and as a defensive midfielder. As a defender he is comfortable advancing into attacking areas and supporting possession-based play, while defensively he is noted for his positioning and ability to read the game, with manager Hansi Flick comparing him to Philipp Lahm.[16][3]

He is also capable of playing as an inverted full-back, moving into central midfield areas during possession to help control the tempo of play and assist in ball progression. His strengths include passing accuracy, tactical discipline and composure on the ball, attributes often associated with players developed in FC Barcelona's academy system.[3][17][10]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 August 2026[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2024–25 Primera Federación 70———70
2025–26 Segunda Federación 131———131
Total 201———201
Barcelona 2025–26 La Liga 40002[a]00060
2026–27 La Liga 1000000010
Total 5000200070
Career total 251002000271
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Barcelona

Barcelona U19

Spain U19

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 Xavi Espart at WorldFootball.net
  2. 1 2 3 "Xavi Espart, blaugrana until 2028". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Herrero, Anaïs Martí (2 August 2026). "Álvaro Cortés y Xavi Espart lanzan su candidatura a Flick: "Queremos quedarnos"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Quién es Xavi Espart: edad, trayectoria y futuro de la nueva promesa del Barça". ElNacional.cat (in Spanish). 11 March 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Andorra 2-1 Barça Atlètic: Frustrated reaction". FC Barcelona. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  6. ↑ "Xavi Espart makes first team debut against Newcastle". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Sevilla: Five-Star Performance Includes Hat-Trick". SI. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "La Liga (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Convocatoria de David Tenorio para el encuentro ante Italia | www.rfef.es". rfef.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 Kannan, Pranav (28 June 2026). "Versatile Barcelona starlet set to lead the midfield for Spain U19 at the Euros". Barca Universal. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Avymex | Digital Agency". www.avymex.com. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Xavi Espart y Andrés Cuenca, campeones de Europa sub-19". www.fcbarcelona.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Un campeón para Flick". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 12 July 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  14. ↑ UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Estévez, Sergi Pérez (13 July 2026). "Xavi Espart, en el Once Ideal del Europeo Sub-19 tras conquistar Europa con España". Diario Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  16. ↑ SER, Cadena (11 March 2026). "Xavi Espart, el nuevo Lahm de Flick: "¿Se puso nervioso? Están acostumbrados a esto desde que son benjamines"". Cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Xavi Espart se hace fuerte en el lateral: otro paso hacia adelante". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 1 August 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  18. ↑ Xavi Espart at Soccerway
  19. ↑ "Barcelona Clinch 29th La Liga Title in Dominant El Clasico". SI. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Record third Youth League title". FC Barcelona. 28 April 2025.
  21. ↑ "2026 Under-19 EURO final highlights & report: Spain overcome Germany to seal tenth title". uefa.com. 11 July 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "2026 Under-19 EURO Team of the Tournament". uefa.com. 13 July 2026. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
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