Pablo Martín Páez Gavira (Spanish pronunciation: born 5 August 2004), known as Gavi pronounced , is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.[4][5] In 2022, he won the Golden Boy award and received the Kopa Trophy, awarded by France Football during the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony. Early life Gavi was born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Sevilla, Andalusia.[1][6] Club career Early career Gavi started his career at La Liara Balompié, a club in his hometown, where he spent two years, between 2010 and 2012.[7] From there he moved on to Real Betis's youth academy, where he spent two seasons.[8][9] He scored 95 goals for the youth team of Real Betis.[10] Barcelona Youth career In 2015, at the age of 11, he signed for Barcelona.[11][12] In September 2020, he signed his first professional contract with the Catalan club, and was promoted directly from the under-16 team to the under-19 team.[13][14] He made his debut for Barcelona B on 21 February 2021, in the 6–0 home routing of L'Hospitalet, coming on as a substitute for Nico González in the 77th minute.[15] He made his first start for Barça B the following 14 March in a 1–0 derby win against
