The second child of Regillio, a former striker in the Dutch top flight, and his mother Peggy, Xavi was born in Amsterdam on 21 April, 2003, and spent his early years in the nation’s capital whilst his father continued to play locally.
Named after the former Barcelona and Spain icon, Xavi Hernandez, due to Regillio's admiration for the Catalan side, Xavi - who is also of Surinamese heritage through his father - was three years old when his family moved to Alicante on Spain’s east coast after Regillio retired from his professional playing career.
Showing a keen interest in the game from a young age, starting out at local club CD Thader, the likes of Elche, Villarreal and Cadiz soon came calling, but Barcelona swooped for the seven-year-old and the decision was made to join their illustrious academy.
Made in La Masia
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Joining the Catalan giants in 2010, Xavi was small in stature but large in character, possessing speed, technical ability and, most impressive of all, a work ethic and winning mentality that saw him captain various youth sides as he progressed through the academy system at La Masia.
Starting out in Barca’s Under-8s, he quickly developed into a hot prospect and a gem that had gained recognition beyond the pitch. By 14, the promising midfielder had broken into the Under-16s and gained over a million followers on social media as fans engaged with the journey of the distinctive frizzy, golden-haired teen.
Featuring regularly in Barca’s Cadete B (Under-16) title-winning side in 2017/18, he was promoted to the Cadete A the following campaign and was soon given the captain’s armband – regularly pictured motivating his team-mates in a pre-match huddle – leading them to victory in the league that term.
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That summer, after nine years in Barcelona’s academy, the starlet made the difficult decision to depart the Blaugrana to join Paris Saint-Germain – following in his idol Neymar Jr’s footsteps.
From PSG to PSV
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Starting a new chapter in Paris, Xavi - whose mother instructed him to learn French to help him better integrate in the capital - initially played in the Under-19s and featured 18 times in that age group across the league, cup and UEFA Youth League.
Into his second season, the then 17-year-old made his non-competitive first team debut for PSG in a pre-season friendly against Sochaux in August, 2020, and was an unused substitute in their Ligue 1 opener at Lens two months later.
Continuing to shine in the Under-19s during the first half of the campaign, the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach in January, 2021 saw the young talent gain more exposure to the first team – starring the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria and later Lionel Messi – and made his debut at SM Caen in the Coupe de France in February, 2021.
His maiden Ligue 1 outing would come in April, 2021, coming off the bench in the closing stages of 4-1 win away to Strasbourg, and tasted silverware for the first time as Les Parisiens lifted consecutive league and cup titles.