Gavi was born in Seville, but he is a true Barcelona native at heart. Just before Sunday's Clásico, he had played a few minutes at the Parc des Princes. As a Barcelona midfielder, he is beginning another season and has made it clear that he wants to win everything, especially the Champions League, which is the team's top priority.
For the Barcelona player, returning to action after a long injury layoff was not easy. In September 2024, he underwent surgery on his right medial meniscus and was sidelined for approximately five months. This injury was particularly disheartening due to the feeling of falling back into the same deep hole. The injury forced him to stop, learn patience, and understand that recovery is also part of a player's career.
However, Gavi came to La Masia as a child many years ago. In 2015, at the age of 11, he joined the club from Real Betis' youth academy. Gavi has been a Barcelona fan since childhood. He proudly stated: "The reason I like Barcelona is because I saw the best team in history—Xavi, Iniesta, and their Barcelona. I've been a Barcelona fan ever since, and I always will be."
When talking about his parents, he said: "Two months before I came, I told my parents I didn't want to come, afraid of any unknowns. Today I am very grateful to my parents; they knew from the beginning that they should bring me here. I was still very young then and didn't want to leave my hometown or my friends. It was almost a complete change of life."
The first six months were difficult due to FIFA's sanctions on Barcelona. It was unimaginable for an 11-year-old Gavi not to be able to play, like a lion trapped in a cage.
"I absolutely couldn't stand not playing; for me, playing is like breathing. So I tried to find a solution. I decided to sign up for the futsal league at the school I attended. I scored four or five goals in every game. We won all the matches, except for the day we were competing for the league title," he concluded.
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