Cubarsi opens up on therapy: players must not be judged for struggling

📰 Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi, 19, has told Reuters that young players who admit they are struggling should never be judged, putting mental health front and centre. 📌 Key points 🗣️ Cubarsi spoke to Reuters about the importance of looking after mental health. 🧠 He said a club psychologist helped him through his first-team breakthrough. 🛋️ He revealed he still attends therapy from time to time. 🏆 He won the World Cup and the tournament's Young Player award at 19. 🥇 He currently leads the Golden Boy rankings. 📝 What happened 🗣️ In an interview with Reuters, Cubarsi said working on your mindset and mental health is the foundation of a player's development. He credited Barcelona's club psychologist with helping his move into the first team and said he still has occasional therapy sessions. 🤝 His message was simple: anyone who speaks up about a tough spell should not be judged, and should feel comfortable saying so. He also argued for proactive work on thought patterns rather than waiting for a crisis. 📈 He urged young players not to compare themselves with early achievers, since everyone breaks through at a different time, and called on clubs to treat recovery time, nutrition and physiotherapy as basics rather than luxuries. 🏆 Cubarsi played every minute of Spain's 2026 World Cup triumph and was named the tournament's best young player. According to Daily Sabah, he leads the Golden Boy race and would be only the second defender to win it, after Matthijs de Ligt in 2018. Spain left him out against Czechia on 3 October to manage his minutes. 📊 By the numbers • Age: 19 • World Cup: every minute played, Spain conceded once • Defenders to win the Golden Boy since 2003: one (De Ligt) 🔭 Why it matters One of the world's top young players openly talking about therapy is a meaningful push against the idea that asking for help is a weakness. Cubarsi now returns to a busy Barcelona October, starting with Getafe on 10 October.