Pau Cubarsí puts mental health at the heart of young players’ development

“Working on your mental health is the most important thing,” says Pau Cubarsí. In an interview with Reuters, the 19-year-old FC Barcelona defender says a club psychologist helped him take his first steps towards the first team and that he sometimes goes to therapy. A favourite for the Golden Boy award and one of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or, he was also named the World Cup’s best young player.

He believes mental health care should not be limited to difficult periods. “It is the most important thing, I would say. Working on your mindset, working on your mental health. When someone feels the need to raise their hand because they are struggling, they should not be judged. They should feel able to say calmly, ‘I’m going through a bad time,’ and know that it is all right,” he explains.

He also believes professional support can be valuable before problems arise. He points to its benefits even after successes such as winning the Liga with Barça and the World Cup with Spain: support can help players examine their thoughts and identify areas where they can improve.

Cubarsí also has a message for young players who see teenagers like him or Lamine Yamal collecting trophies and individual honours: early success must not become an obsession. “They should focus above all on working every day, trying to become better people, and not let anxiety take over if, for example, they are not getting opportunities at 16, to the point where they get angry or shut down.” He adds that players must keep fighting and believing in themselves, rather than thinking that turning 20 makes them old for a debut just because some players have started at 16. The key, he says, is to be ready when the opportunity comes.

The World Cup’s best young player award was an encouragement to him, rather than proof that he had already mastered his profession. “It is not a reason to relax, but a way to see that you can also achieve great things individually and that you have to keep fighting to try to win as many titles as possible,” he says.

He also wants clubs to back their efforts to promote young players with plans that protect their development. He mentions, in particular, more rest between matches, while stressing that this should not be an excuse. Each club, he says, should have a development plan to work with young players and look after them.