Increasingly, football players are taking steps to ensure that when their career is over, they land on their feet. The number of professional athletes who find themselves fallen upon hard times has caused a movement within the game encouraging younger players to have plans if things don’t work out, or for afterwards if they do.

One such example is Pau Cubarsi. The 18-year-old defender has already played over 100 professional games for Barcelona and Spain, but is also carrying on with his education. No doubt the use of an essay writing service might have been useful for Cubarsi as he balances his football career with it. This year he is set to begin a degree in business administration and management, after sitting his entrance exams in June.

Across Spanish football, it is increasingly common to find more examples of players studying at the same time as their playing commitments. While the schedule of a top-level footballer is increasingly hectic, the long travel times and high intensity but short training sessions allows time during the day for other activities. Many top stars also have business or charity interests that they dedicate time to outside of the game. Others, such as Rayo Vallecano manager Inigo Perez, who took his coaching badges at the age of just 19, look for opportunities to set themselves up within football.

Cubarsi has had an impressive entrance into his fledgling career. Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, he was handed his La Liga debut in January of 2024 by Xavi Hernandez, and has been a regular more or less since. Last season he was crucial to Barcelona’s efforts in securing a domestic treble of La Liga, the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey, pulling up just short in the Champions League semi-finals.

On the international scene, Cubarsi made his debut a little more than three months after his senior debut for Barcelona. Coming on as a substitute in friendlies against Colombia and Brazil, Cubarsi also made the preliminary squad for Euro 2024, before eventually heading off with the Olympic team. In Paris, Cubarsi was a starter as La Roja romped to a gold medal.

After missing a couple of call-ups last year, Luis de la Fuente has restored him to the senior Spain squad in every one of his squads in 2025 so far. Alongside Real Madrid counterpart Dean Huijsen, many regard him as the future of the Spanish national team at the position.