MADRID, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Pau Cubarsi has won a World Cup at 19, but the Spain defender wants young footballers to know that success does not mean having to cope with everything alone — and asking for help should carry no stigma.
Fresh from being named the World Cup's best young player and now the favourite for the Golden Boy award, the Barcelona teenager speaks as thoughtfully about protecting his mental health as he does about protecting the ball.
Cubarsi said a club psychologist helped him navigate his first steps towards Barcelona's senior team and that he has occasionally sought therapy. For him, mental health is a fundamental part of a footballer's development, not an afterthought.
"It's the most important thing, I'd say – looking after it. Working on your mindset, working on your mental health," Cubarsi told Reuters in an exclusive interview.
"I believe that when someone feels the need to speak up because they're having a hard time, they shouldn't be judged. They need to feel comfortable saying, 'I'm going through a tough time, and that's OK'."
He believes professional support can also be valuable before problems emerge, allowing players to examine their thoughts and identify areas they can work on.
Cubarsi's own response to pressure is built around self-belief rather than dwelling on mistakes. Errors for Barcelona or Spain can be costly, he acknowledges, but repeatedly reliving them can become an unhealthy obsession.
"I think the pressure does actually help you improve every day, but you mustn't get obsessed with mistakes or with things that perhaps haven't gone your way," he said.
It is a perspective shaped during a career that has barely afforded him time to pause. Cubarsi made his Barcelona debut at 16 in January 2024 and won his first Spain cap two months later.
He went on to play every minute of Spain's World Cup-winning campaign, anchoring a defence that conceded only once and restricted Lionel Messi's Argentina to no shots on target in the final.
Yet his rapid rise has not persuaded him that every young player must follow the same timetable.
NO DEADLINE FOR SUCCESS
For academy players watching teenagers collect trophies and individual honours, Cubarsi has a clear message: an early breakthrough must not become an obsession.
"The key is that if, at 16, for example, you're not being given opportunities, you shouldn't get angry or get stuck in a rut, but keep fighting, keep believing in yourself," he said.
"At 20 I think you're still considered young, and they have to keep fighting because when the opportunity comes, you have to be ready."
Even his World Cup award represented encouragement rather than proof that he had mastered his profession.
"It's not something to rest on your laurels over, but rather to realise that you can also achieve great things individually and that you have to keep fighting," he said.
Cubarsi also wants clubs to match their willingness to promote youngsters with plans to protect their development.
With matches almost every three days, he regards rest, diet, gym work and time with physiotherapists as part of the job, not optional extras.
"Sometimes, as we're still growing, such a heavy match schedule can take its toll a bit, but you also have to listen to your body and keep working at it," he said.
"Football is our job too, even though we enjoy it to the full, and when you're not training or playing matches, you've still got to be professional."
Asked what he would change about the system and its relentless schedule, he called for more recovery time and a structured approach to nurturing young players.
"Well, above all, perhaps having a bit more rest between matches, though I don't think that's an excuse; rather, every club should also have a development plan for young players, to work with them, to look after them and, above all, to help them improve."
(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Toby Davis)
