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Get To Know Xavi Simons: Salary, Shirt Number and the Anime Celebrations Tottenham Fans Will Love

Tottenham Hotspur, Xavi Simons

Tottenham Hotspur have secured a major signing, bringing in 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. The deal is reported to be worth €60 million. Simons, who was born in Amsterdam, is the son of former professional footballer Regillio Simons and his wife, Peggy Simons.

Simons pictured with his Brother and Mother

Early Years

At the age of three, he moved with his family to a village near Alicante, Spain where he started playing football at Club Deportivo Thader, a local club. Xavi Simons’ father was such a big admirer of the Barcelona legend, Xavi Hernandez, that he named his son “Xavi” in his honor. It would make perfect sense for him to join the coveted La Masia academy in 2010. He would start garnering a lot of hype and was touted by scouts as the next big La Masia product. Despite being Dutch he was selected to be the captain.

At the age of 14, Simons had landed himself a Nike contract and had a Million Instagram followers. One year before his move to the Barca U16 team, Super agent Mino Raiola had Simons signed to his agency.

PSG Move

This is claimed by some as the reason for Simons moving to PSG in the summer of 2019. Instead of the agent’s request for special status for his client within the Barcelona youth system, which was denied, the agent chose to take a deal with PSG. He had warned the club that there were many clubs interested in his client if they refused.

Simons at the age of 16 was reportedly earning €1 million annually after the move. However he would not be able to break into the first team. He made his professional debut in February 2021 but only managed a total of 11 senior appearances across all competitions over two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22). Most of these appearances were as a substitute. Simons’ contract with PSG was set to expire in the summer of 2022. There were reports that PSG wanted to extend his contract and then loan him out, but Simons ultimately chose to leave on a permanent basis to secure more first-team playing time.

It was a move back to familiar surroundings as PSV wanted a permanent transfer for the Dutchman who went on a free. PSG however were able to secure a €6m buy back clause. Xavi really had his breakout season under Ruud van Nistelrooy. He would showcase his skills as an attacking midfielder and winger with an impressive 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions. This included a remarkable 19 goals in the Eredivisie, which saw him share the league’s top scorer award alongside Anastasios Douvikas.

This lead to PSG activating his €6m buyback clause. He was immediately loaned out to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for the 2023-2024 season. This move was made to ensure he continued to get the regular playing time and development he needed, as his position in a star-studded PSG squad was still not guaranteed.

Simons thrived in the Bundesliga, becoming a key player for Leipzig. He finished the season with 10 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, showcasing his consistent offensive output and playmaking ability. In the summer of 2024, after his loan at Leipzig concluded, Simons returned to PSG.

However, his future was once again a subject of much speculation. Their were reports that Bayern Munich were interested in him but ultimately the move did not conclude with Bayern deciding to save money for a potential Florian Wirtz transfer. In a significant transfer move in January 2025, RB Leipzig made his stay permanent, signing him for €50m. His time as a permanent Leipzig player was short-lived as he joined Tottenham.

Spurs Move

At Tottenham according to pokeefe1 on twitter/x, Xavi Simons is set to become the clubs top earner reportedly on £200k per week. A massive amount for a 22 year old, showing the clubs ambition and plan for him to be a long term player.

After the departure of Tottenham Legend Son Heung-min there was a vacancy for his number 7 shirt. That vacancy did not last long as the Dutchman will don the number 7 shirt for Tottenham. Simons in his announcement video would say, “Everyone loves Son. I know it’s a big responsibility, but I’m ready to take it. I’m ready to make my own story.”

Xavi Simons also shares a common liking for Anime like his new teammate Dominic Solanke, with him often using anime celebrations. Simons often mimics the hand signs used by characters in Naruto when they are entering “Sage Mode,” a state of heightened power and perception.

There were many size concerns with fans believing Xavi Simons is 5’7 and would not be able to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League however this is not true.

Simons is 5’9 and his weak build does not matter when his dribbling is exquisite, he can put defenders and midfielders on the ground. Here is a video where he dribbles past Declan Rice and scores a stunner from outside the box in the Euros 2024 Semi Final.

Simons and Eze

It was no secret that Tottenham wanted Eze and Arsenal would Hijack and steal the deal. These players are very alike, same height and can play both in the number 10 role and on the Left wing. They also show similar numbers in some defensive metrics, such as possessions won in the final third and tackles per 90 minutes. However the question needs to be asked whether Spurs signed the better player?

Data is from https://datamb.football/wingers/

Xavi has much higher progressive carries, Non Penalty Goals, Assists and Key passes. Eze is more all rounded but Simons has elite stats for an attacking player.

Eze cost £60million with potential for £7.5m whereas Simons cost £51.8m. Simons was cheaper and is only 22, Eze is 27. Simons provides high resale value but Eze is currently in his prime years and will not provide much resale value later down the line.

There is a clip emerging of Simons cleaning the boots of Arsenal winger Madueke during their time at PSV.

However this is not true, he was cleaning all his teammates boots as they often do to young players with one teammate saying it was done to “keep his feet on the ground”.

FC 26 Rating

Simons is rated 84 on FC 26 according to leaks. He will have 77 pace and shooting, 80 passing an 87 dribbling. He is also set to have 4 star skill moves and 3 star weak foot, making him a very good option as a starter pick.

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