22/07/2026
At just 19 years old, Pau Cubarsí was named the Best Young Player at the 2026 World Cup after helping Spain lift the trophy 🇪🇸🏆
Yet away from football, his life remains remarkably ordinary…
Cubarsí grew up in Estanyol, a village of fewer than 200 people with no football pitch and no school. His parents drove him to a neighbouring village just so he could train, while he spent much of his childhood in his father’s woodworking shop, surrounded by the smell of timber, sawdust and machinery 🪵🪚
Despite becoming one of the world’s best young defenders, he still lives with his older sister, helps cook and wash up, studies Business Administration three afternoons a week, and regularly returns home to spend time with his family, their sheep, chickens and ducks. He says walks through the countryside help him completely disconnect from football.
The biggest stars don’t always come from the biggest places. Sometimes they come from the smallest villages with the biggest dreams 🫶