Xavi Simons

Xavier Quentin Shay Simons (born 21 April 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club PSV and the Netherlands national team.

For the English footballer, see Xavier Simons.
Xavi Simons
Simons with Paris Saint-Germain U19 in 2020
Personal information
Full name Xavier Quentin Shay Simons[1]
Date of birth (2003-04-21) 21 April 2003
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 PSV
Number 7
Youth career
2008–2010 Club Deportivo Thader
2010–2019 Barcelona
2019–2022 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Paris Saint-Germain 7 (0)
2022– PSV 32 (16)
International career‡
2018 Netherlands U15 5 (1)
2019 Netherlands U16 3 (0)
2019 Netherlands U17 6 (3)
2021 Netherlands U19 6 (3)
2022– Netherlands U21 2 (0)
2022– Netherlands 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:36, 14 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Born in Amsterdam, Simons is the son of Dutch former footballer Regillio Simons.[2] Simons is of Surinamese descent through his father.[3] His older brother Faustino (born 1996), who also played football, shares the same birthday.[4]

Club career

Early career

Simons joined the youth setup of Barcelona in 2010 from Club Deportivo Thader of Alicante,[5] and quickly progressed to become one of the Spanish club's most highly rated youth players, with English club Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid, reportedly attempting to sign him at a young age.[6][7]

Paris Saint-Germain
Simons with Paris Saint-Germain in 2020

In July 2019, Simons moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), having failed to agree a new contract with Barcelona.[8][9] His three-year contract with the Parisian club was reportedly worth up to €1 million annually.[10][11] On 10 February 2021, Simons made his professional debut for PSG, coming on as a substitute for Julian Draxler in a 1–0 Coupe de France win over Caen.[12][13] He made his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Strasbourg two months later.[14] On 19 May 2021, he won his first professional trophy, the Coupe de France.[15]

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Simons was included in the first-team preparation and pre-season by manager Mauricio Pochettino.[16] On 14 July 2021, he came off the bench and scored a goal in a 4–0 friendly win over Le Mans at the Camp des Loges.[17] He scored another goal in a 2–2 friendly draw against Chambly three days later at the same ground.[18] On 18 August, Simons was sent back to train with the under-19 squad coached by Zoumana Camara.[19] He eventually made his first appearance of the season for PSG in a 3–0 cup win over Feignies Aulnoye on 19 December, his first ever professional start.[20] On 3 January 2022, Simons recorded his first senior assist in a 4–0 cup win over Vannes, a pass for Kylian Mbappé.[21] His first league appearance of the 2021–22 season came in a 1–1 away draw to Lyon on 9 January, where he came on as a 69th minute substitute.[22] On 31 January, Simons missed the final penalty in a 6–5 penalty shoot-out defeat to Nice in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.[23] On 11 February, he made his first league start in a 1–0 win over Rennes at the Parc des Princes.[24]

PSV

On 28 June 2022, Simons signed for Eredivisie club PSV on a five-year contract.[25] Although he was initially expected to extend his contract with PSG and join PSV on loan,[26] the situation changed when PSV no longer wanted a loan deal.[27] However, PSG negotiated a buy-back clause in Simons's contract, effective in 2023.[28] Simons scored a goal on his debut for the club, a 5–3 win over rivals Ajax in the Johan Cruyff Shield on 30 July.[29] On 7 August, in his first Eredivisie game, Simons provided an assist for Johan Bakayoko, who opened the scoring in a 4–1 victory against newly promoted Emmen.[30]

International career

Simons has represented the Netherlands at under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 and under-21 levels.[2]

On 21 October 2022, Simons joined the preselection of the Dutch national team for the first time in his career. A few weeks later, he was eventually called up for the World Cup in Qatar by head coach Louis van Gaal.[31][32] On 3 December he made his World Cup debut against the United States with a 3-1 win, in the round of 16.[33]

Personal life

In March 2020, Simons was named on Goal's "NxGn 2020" list of 50 best wonderkids in world football.[34] He was also included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2020" in October.[35] Simons has amassed a large following on social media platform Instagram, with over 4 million followers. He also has a sponsorship contract with sporting goods manufacturer Adidas.[36]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 May 2023[37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain 2020–21 Ligue 1 1010000020
2021–22 Ligue 1 6030000090
Total 70400000110
PSV 2022–23 Eredivisie 3216419[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 3]14619
Career total 39168191115719
  1. Includes Coupe de France, KNVB Cup
  2. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield

International
As of match played 27 March 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 202210
202320
Total30

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

PSV

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Kelly, Ryan (24 July 2019). "Who is Xavi Simons? La Masia wonderkid who broke Barcelona hearts to join PSG". Goal. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. "Onderhandeling voor bondscoach gesprongen" [Negotiation for national coach jumped]. Suriname Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  4. Faustino Simons at WorldFootball.net
  5. "Former Thader youngster Xavi Simons makes his debut for PSG". The Leader Newspaper. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  6. Webb, Tom (8 January 2016). "Chelsea Following the Progress of 12-Year-Old Barcelona Starlet Xavi Simons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. Sunderland, Tom (16 January 2016). "Real Madrid Transfer News: Xavi Simons Plan Reported to 'Strike Back' at Ban". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. Llorens, Moises; Marsden, Sam (23 July 2019). "Barca lose Dutch youngster Xavi Simons to PSG". ESPN. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  9. "Simons explains his Barca exit: "Everyone dreams about Messi, but..."". BeSoccer. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. "Xavi Simons is on €1 million-per-year at Paris Saint-Germain". GiveMeSport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  11. "Xavi Simons signs his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Debut for Xavi Simons". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Caen vs. Paris Saint-Germain". ESPN. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  14. "Strasbourg vs. PSG". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Zavala, Steve (20 May 2021). "Xavi Simons Earned First Career Trophy Win with PSGs Triumph in the 2021 Coupe de France final". PSG Talk. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  16. "Premier match amical pour le PSG" [First friendly match for PSG]. ParisTeam.fr (in French). 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "Paris Saint-Germain V Le Mans" (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. Barbaud, Maxime (17 July 2021). "Amical : Chambly arrache le match nul contre le PSG" [Friendly: Chambly grabs a draw against PSG]. Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 17 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. "Xavi Simons and Edouard Michut return to PSG U19s, Ismaël Gharbi stays with the seniors". Get French Football News. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. "Feignies vs. Paris Saint-Germain". ESPN. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. Johnson, Jonathan (3 January 2022). "PSG star Kylian Mbappe opens 2022 in style with 17-minute hat trick in Coupe de France blowout". CBS Sports. Retrieved 10 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. "Xavi Simons gets a chance to impress as PSG draw with Lyon". Football Oranje. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. "Nice eliminate holders PSG on penalties from French Cup". ESPN. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  24. "Xavi Simons makes history in PSG victory". Football Oranje. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  25. "He's here to stay | PSV langdurig vast" (in Dutch). PSV. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  26. "Xavi Simons doit prolonger au PSG avant d'être prêté au PSV Eindhoven" [Xavi Simons should extend with PSG before being loaned to PSV Eindhoven]. L'Équipe (in French). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  27. "Mercato: le PSG a intégré une clause de rachat dans le contrat de Xavi Simons" [Transfer Market: PSG has integrated a buy-back clause in Xavi Simons's contract]. RMC Sport (in French). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  28. "Xavi Simons quitte le PSG pour le PSV Eindhoven sans passer par un prêt" [Xavi Simons leaves PSG for PSV Eindhoven without passing by a loan]. L'Équipe (in French). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  29. "Ajax - PSV". PSV.nl. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  30. "PSV coast to an easy victory over FC Emmen in their first game of the Eredivisie season". NL Times. NL Times.
  31. "Nieuwe namen in voorselectie Oranje: Simons, Van de Ven en Bakker". nos.nl. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. "Van Gaal maakt 26-koppige WK-selectie bekend". KNVB. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  33. "Afwachtend Oranje met vleugje totaalvoetbal via VS naar kwartfinales". nos.nl. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. "NxGn 2020: The 50 best wonderkids in football". Goal. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  35. Christenson, Marcus; Powell, Jim; Blight, Garry (7 October 2020). "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  36. "Nike Have Apparently Lost PSG Youngster Xavi Simons - Footy Headlines". amp.footyheadlines.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  37. Xavi Simons at Soccerway
  38. "Xavi Simons". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  39. Bosher, Luke; Whitehead, Jacob (23 April 2022). "PSG crowned Ligue 1 champions after draw against Lens". The Athletic. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  40. "Mbappe stars in Coupe de France final as PSG down Monaco". MARCA. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  41. "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  42. Kenmare, Jack (3 September 2022). "A compilation of Xavi Simons ripping up the Eredivisie with PSV is unreal, he's a serious baller". SPORTbible. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  43. "Xavi Simons named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for March". Eredivisie. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  44. "Nick Olij named Eredivisie Player of the Month for January". Eredivisie. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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