Jota Jordi, a regular pundit on Josep Pedrerol’s show, made himself the laughingstock of the day when he claimed that Kylian Mbappé would be “afraid” to face Pau Cubarsí, one of Barcelona’s rising young stars.
This is despite the fact that Cubarsí has only played a handful of minutes at the highest level, against a weakened Atlético Madrid and a Napoli side that were far from their best.
These two games, along with a couple of others of little importance, have seen Cubarsí elevated to the starting lineup. The centre-back is a breath of fresh air for Xavi’s side, but he already has the weight of the world on his shoulders ahead of his direct duel with Kylian Mbappé.
Barcelona are very happy with the youngster but at the same time worried. This is because there are some biased journalists, like Jota Jordi, who are already spouting nonsense about the kid and that doesn’t help him at all. To make matters worse, the ‘El Chiringuito’ pundit was left red-faced after the young defender revealed that Sergio Ramos, a Real Madrid legend, is an “idol” of his.
Pressure
Saying that Mbappé will know who Pau Cubarsí is when they face each other in a few weeks is only adding unnecessary pressure to the player. The Barça-PSG tie will mark the end of the season for the Catalans and Xavi’s time in Barcelona. Everything will depend on the young player’s performance.
This has not gone down well with either Barcelona or the player’s entourage, who believe that it does him no good at all. On the contrary, it could add to the pressure and, if Mbappé gets the better of him, it could sink him. Kylian will be rubbing his hands together at the prospect of this pressure, as he is an expert in this type of confrontation… as he showed a couple of years ago.
🤩 El primer día de Pau Cubarsí con la @SEFutbol
🇪🇸 “Es un sueño hecho realidad”
👶🏻 “Si puedo superar a Sergio Ramos, que es un ídolo, estaría muy contento”
📻 #PartidazoCOPEpic.twitter.com/8kqQQnB9Cs
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) March 18, 2024
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