Barcelona breakthrough starlet had an indirect opportunity to join Man City last year

As Barcelona take on Girona in the much-awaited Catalan Derby this evening, one of the players who will be in focus is Pau Cubarsi.

The young defender, who has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence this year, was formerly a part of the Girona youth setup before he joined La Masia in 2018.

Cubarsi’s career trajectory, though, could have panned out very differently and he could even ended up in Manchester City, according to the Barça Reservat podcast (h/t SPORT).

Cubarsi was approached by Girona last year

As per the report, Cubarsi was approached by his former club Girona last year, even before he had made such an impression in the Barcelona first team.

Cubarsi, at the time, was plying his trade for Barça youth. That is when Girona approached, offering him the opportunity to become a part of the club’s first team.

Cubarsi was given the opportunity to rejoin Girona (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

In addition to the opportunity of playing for the Girona first-team, the club also offered Cubarsi an indirect way to Manchester City.

It must be noted that Girona and Manchester City are owned by the same entity, meaning the Premier League giants can easily summon players from their sister club.

Cubars settled for Barcelona

Despite the tempting offer, Girona were dealt with a strong rejection from Pau Cubarsi, who wanted to continue at Barcelona.

The young defender was sure he was going to find prominence at Barça and was not tempted by the idea of potentially joining Man City in the future.

Safe to say, it was a wise decision as Cubarsi has now become one of Barcelona’s most important defenders despite being only 17.

Buoyed by his success, Barça are now keen on securing Cubarsi’s long-term future at Camp Nou and a contract extension could soon be on the horizon.