Xavi Simons facts for kids
Simons playing for PSV in 2023
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Xavi Quentin Shay Simons | ||
| Date of birth | 21 April 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
RB Leipzig | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2010 | CD Thader | ||
| 2010–2019 | Barcelona | ||
| 2019–2022 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Paris Saint-Germain | 7 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | PSV | 34 | (19) |
| 2023–2025 | Paris Saint-Germain | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | → RB Leipzig (loan) | 43 | (12) |
| 2025– | RB Leipzig | 14 | (6) |
| 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 | 28 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:28, 17 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:58, 10 June 2025 (UTC) |
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Xavi Quentin Shay Simons (born on 21 April 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer. He plays as an attacking midfielder or winger. Xavi currently plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Netherlands national team.
Xavi started his youth career at Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. In July 2019, he joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He made his professional debut in 2021. With PSG, he won a Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.
In 2022, Xavi moved back to the Netherlands to play for PSV. He had a fantastic season there. He won the KNVB Cup, the Johan Cruyff Shield, and was the top scorer in the Eredivisie league. In 2023, he rejoined PSG. He was then immediately loaned out to RB Leipzig in Germany for two seasons. In 2025, he signed a permanent deal with RB Leipzig.
Xavi also played for the Netherlands at different youth levels. He was first called up to the senior national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut at that tournament.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Xavi Simons was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His father, Regillio Simons, was also a professional footballer. Xavi's family moved to a village near Alicante, Spain when he was three years old. He started playing football there at a local club called Club Deportivo Thader.
Club Career
Starting His Journey
Xavi joined Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, in 2010. He quickly became one of their most promising young players. Even at a young age, big clubs like Chelsea were interested in signing him. People called him a "prodigy" because of his amazing talent.
Time at Paris Saint-Germain
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In July 2019, Xavi moved to the French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He signed a three-year contract. On 10 February 2021, Xavi played his first professional game for PSG. He came on as a substitute in a Coupe de France match against Caen. Two months later, he made his Ligue 1 debut. On 19 May 2021, he won his first trophy, the Coupe de France.
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For the 2021–22 season, Xavi trained with the first team. He made his first start for PSG in a cup game on 19 December. On 3 January 2022, he got his first assist in a senior game. He helped Kylian Mbappé score a goal. Xavi made his first Ligue 1 start on 11 February. At the end of that season, PSG won the Ligue 1 title, which was Xavi's first league trophy.
Success at PSV
On 28 June 2022, Xavi signed a five-year contract with Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. PSG had a special agreement to buy him back later for about €6 million.
Xavi scored his first goal for PSV in his very first game. This was a 5–3 win against rivals Ajax in the 2022 Johan Cruyff Shield on 30 July 2022. He also scored his first goal in a European competition on 6 October. In the 2023 KNVB Cup final, he helped PSV win against Ajax again.
In the last game of the 2022–23 Eredivisie season, Xavi scored two goals. This helped PSV finish second and get a spot in the Champions League qualifiers. He ended the season as the top scorer in the Eredivisie with nineteen goals. Overall, he scored twenty-two goals and made twelve assists in forty-eight games. He was also named "Player of the Month" twice.
On 16 July 2023, PSV announced that Xavi was leaving to go back to Paris Saint-Germain.
Back to Paris Saint-Germain
On 19 July 2023, Xavi Simons officially returned to Paris Saint-Germain. He signed a four-year contract. PSG used the special buy-back clause in his PSV contract.
Loan to RB Leipzig
Right after rejoining PSG, Xavi was loaned to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for the 2023–24 season. He made his debut for Leipzig on 12 August 2023. On 25 August, he scored his first Bundesliga goal and also made two assists. On 25 October, Xavi scored his first goal in the Champions League. He was named player of the match. He was also the youngest Dutch player to score and assist in the Champions League since 2003. By the end of the season, Xavi had scored eight goals and made eleven assists in the Bundesliga. He helped RB Leipzig finish fourth.
On 5 August 2024, Xavi was loaned to RB Leipzig again for the rest of the season. On 12 January 2025, he scored two goals in a 4–2 win against Werder Bremen. This was his first time scoring two goals in a Bundesliga game.
Permanent Move to RB Leipzig
On 30 January 2025, RB Leipzig signed Xavi Simons permanently from Paris Saint-Germain. They paid €50 million for him, which was a record for the club. He signed a contract until 2027.
However, on 14 May 2025, Xavi told Leipzig he wanted to leave the club at the end of the 2024–25 season. He said this was because the team did not qualify for the next Champions League season.
International Career
Xavi Simons played for the Netherlands at various youth levels. These included the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19, and under-21 teams.
On 21 October 2022, Xavi was chosen for the Netherlands national team for the first time. On 11 November, he was officially called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He was the youngest player in the Dutch squad. On 3 December, he made his debut for the Netherlands and in the World Cup. This was in a 3–1 win against the United States. He became the youngest Dutch player to play in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
On 24 March 2023, Xavi started his first game for the Netherlands. This was a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier against France. He played in almost all the qualifying matches. In June 2023, Xavi was part of the Dutch squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals. On 29 May 2024, he was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024. He scored his first goal for the senior team on 10 June 2024, in a friendly game against Iceland. On 10 July 2024, he scored a goal against England in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. However, the Netherlands lost that game 2–1.
Personal Life
Xavi Simons signed his first advertising contract with Nike when he was 13 years old. He later switched to Adidas in 2021 and then to Puma in 2023. In August 2018, he appeared in a Nike commercial. During his youth career, Xavi gained a large following on Instagram. By 2019, at age 16, he had over two million followers. In March 2020, he was named one of the top fifty young talents in world football by "Goal" website. "The Guardian" also included him in their "Next Generation 2020" list.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| PSV | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 34 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 22 |
| RB Leipzig (loan) | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 10 |
| RB Leipzig | 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 25 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 33 | 11 | |
| Total | 57 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 76 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 98 | 37 | 13 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 135 | 43 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 28 | 5 | |
- Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Simons goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 June 2024 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands | 14 |  Iceland |
1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 10 July 2024 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany | 20 |  England |
1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 |
| 3 | 7 September 2024 | Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands | 21 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
5–2 | 5–2 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
| 4 | 23 March 2025 | Mestalla, Valencia, Spain | 26 |  Spain |
3–3 | 3–3 (aet) (4–5 p) |
2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
| 5 | 10 June 2025 | Euroborg, Groningen, Netherlands | 28 |  Malta |
4–0 | 8–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2021–22
- Coupe de France: 2020–21
PSV
- KNVB Cup: 2022–23
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2022
RB Leipzig
- DFL-Supercup: 2023
Individual
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: August 2022, March 2023
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: January 2023
- Eredivisie top scorer: 2022–23 (shared)
- Eredivisie Talent of the Year: 2022–23
- Bundesliga Goal of the Month: September 2023, January 2024
- Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: December 2023, April 2024
- VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2023–24
See also
In Spanish: Xavi Simons para niños
