Dutch footballer Xavi Simons to RB Leipzig on loan
Jul 20, 2023
Leipzig [Germany], July 20 : German football club RB Leipzig have signed Xavi Simons on loan for one season from Paris Saint Germain (PSG).
According to RB Leipzig's website, "The talented attacker, Xavi Simons was signed on loan for one season from French champions Paris Saint-Germain. He will wear the number 20 shirt at RB Leipzig."
PSG activated their buy-back clause for the 20-year-old a few days ago. He returned to France after an unbelievable season with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 22 goals and recording 12 assists in 48 competitive games. He ended the campaign as the top goalscorer in the Eredivisie (19 goals).
After completing the signing Xavi Simons said, “The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in Europe and RB Leipzig is one of the best teams in the Bundesliga. Coming to Leipzig is the right step for me because RBL constantly shows how to develop young players and be successful with them."
He added, "I’m joining a club that regularly plays Champions League football. The squad has the perfect mix of lots of young and experienced players, and the whole club is hungry for success. I was immediately impressed by RB Leipzig’s style of play and I strongly believe that my qualities will be a good match for this team and we can achieve a lot together. I can hardly wait to play with my new teammates and start the new season. Leipzig – I can’t wait!”
Max Eberl, the board member for sports of RB Leipzig, said, “We have been able to sign an exceptional young talent in Xavi Simons. He is one of the top attacking midfielders in his age group in Europe and has everything needed to take the Bundesliga by storm with his individual quality."
He added, "Xavi is the latest young talent to choose RB Leipzig, which underlines the reputation RBL enjoys based on the club’s work and ambitions."
Eberl said, "Xavi can play at any attacking position behind the strikers, as a number 10, false nine or on the wings. He has an excellent understanding of tactics and technical ability, combined with intelligence, and presents a real threat on goal. He is agile, loves to have the ball and has good acceleration. He runs a lot and is always looking to make quick passes."
While concluding he said, "He is the perfect addition to our squad and our style of play, and we have a great mix of players as our attacking options at the moment. It’s also important that Xavi is able to join in on training camp along with the other new signings and that we have been able to make excellent progress in our squad planning for next season, with more than three weeks still to go until our first competitive fixture.”
Xavi Simons spent nine years in the legendary academy of FC Barcelona, La Masia, before joining Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019.
Simons made his debut in professional football for PSG on 10th February 2021 in the French Cup. He then played his first league game two months later on 10th April in Ligue 1. The youngster moved to Eindhoven last year after 11 competitive appearances for PSG. Xavi was part of the PSV side that won the Dutch Cup last season.
Xavi Simons has so far played four times for the Netherlands. He previously played for all of the Dutch’s youth sides, winning 22 caps across various age groups.