Gavi
Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, known as Gavi, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for the Spain national team. Gavi was born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Sevilla, Andalusia. Gavi started his career at La Liara Balompié, a club in his hometown, where he spent two years, between 2010 and 2012. From there he moved on to Real Betis’s youth academy, where he spent two seasons. He scored 95 goals for the youth team of Real Betis. On 30 September 2021, Gavi received a surprise call-up to the senior Spain national team by the manager Luis Enrique. He made his debut in their UEFA Nations League semi-final win against Italy on 6 October, becoming the youngest player to ever represent Spain at senior level. In the final against France on 10 October, Spain ultimately suffered a 2–1 defeat. On 5 June 2022, he scored his first senior goal in the Nations League away against the Czech Republic, becoming the youngest player to ever score representing Spain at senior level.
Match Worn Boots
Barcelona F.C.
Did you Know?
These boots were worn by Gavi during the season 2021/2022 with F.C.Barcelona. Graham Hunter of ESPN hailed Gavi as a highly promising young player in 2021, comparing him to former Barcelona midfielders Xavi and Andrés Iniesta due to his dribbling, anticipation, intelligence, vision, passing, first touch, close control, change of pace, and quick reflexes. Following his performance in Spain’s semi-final victory over Italy in the 2021 Nations League Finals, Italian defender Emerson Palmieri described Gavi as a player who “has huge potential”. In 2015, at the age of 11, he signed for Barcelona. In September 2020, he signed his first professional contract with the Catalan club, and was promoted directly from the under-16 team to the under-19 team. He made his debut for Barcelona B on 21 February 2021, in the 6–0 home routing of L’Hospitalet, coming on as a substitute for Nico González in the 77th minute. He made his first start for Barça B the following 14 March in a 1–0 derby win against Espanyol B at the Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque. Having featured twice for Barcelona B in the 2020–21 season, Gavi was promoted to the senior squad for pre-season friendlies with the first team ahead of the start of the new season. After good performances in wins against Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Girona, Gavi was reported to have pushed ahead of Riqui Puig in manager Ronald Koeman’s squad selection. He continued this good run of form in a 3–0 win against German opposition VfB Stuttgart, earning comparisons with Barcelona legend Xavi. On 29 August 2021, he played his first official match for Barcelona’s first team in the 2–1 La Liga win over Getafe, replacing Sergi Roberto in the 73rd minute. On 18 December, he scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist in the 3–2 home win over Elche.
