Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí has made it clear that his Anfield admiration is a footballing one, not a transfer tease. He says Virgil van Dijk has been a major influence in recent years, and he would like to play a big Champions League night at Anfield. He also said he has always followed the Premier League.

Cubarsi's Anfield wish

The most interesting line in the interview is the simplest one. Cubarsí did not frame Anfield as a future home, only as the kind of stage he wants to experience. That fits the rest of what he says about his own game, because he spends as much time analysing himself as he does watching others.

“I have looked up a lot to Virgil van Dijk in recent years,” Cubarsi said. “But I also tend to look at myself a lot and analyse my performances.”

Van Dijk is the obvious reference point, but Cubarsi also named Puyol and Pique as templates in the wider interview. The bigger point is that he is already thinking like a centre-back who studies the role rather than just plays it. That is probably why the Anfield line lands the way it does.

The case he makes for defenders

Cubarsi also used the interview to make a broader point about how defenders are viewed. “Us defenders are not too eye-catching. People prefer strikers or wingers, or anyone who scores and assists, and I get it,” he said, before adding that defenders do more of the dirty work and deserve more recognition.

It is a fair complaint, and it comes from someone with enough standing to make it without sounding precious. He won the Golden Boy award, finished 12th in the Ballon d’Or as the highest-placed centre-back and has already played 4 Champions League matches this season. At 19, he is not talking about recognition from the outside. He has already earned a seat in the discussion.

The World Cup backdrop matters too. Cubarsi played 8 World Cup matches and returned a 7.35 rating, while his 7.14 La Liga rating shows why Barcelona already trust him in a title chase. He is still at the start of his career, but the habits are those of a defender who expects the standard to stay high.

“When you’re young, awards like the Golden Boy or the Kopa trophy are dreams and I am so pleased to have won this one now,” he said in comments translated from Spanish. “It means our season with Barca and Spain was very good, but also that I am on the right track.”

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →