Gavi started his career at La Liara Balompié, a club in his hometown, where he spent two years, between 2010 and 2012.[5] From there he moved on toReal Betis'syouth academy, where he spent twoseasons.[6][7] He scored 95 goals for the youth team ofReal Betis.[8]
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.[11][12] He made his debut forBarcelona B on 21 February 2021, in the 6–0 home routing ofL'Hospitalet, coming on as a substitute forNico González in the 77th minute.[13] He made his first start for Barça B the following 14 March in a 1–0derby win againstEspanyol B at theCiutat Esportiva Dani Jarque.[14]
Having featured twice forBarcelona B in the2020–21 season, Gavi was promoted to the senior squad for pre-season friendlies with the first team ahead of the start of thenew season.[15][16] After good performances in wins againstGimnàstic de Tarragona andGirona, Gavi was reported to have pushed ahead ofRiqui Puig in managerRonald Koeman's squad selection.[17][18] He continued this good run of form in a 3–0 win against German oppositionVfB Stuttgart, earning comparisons with Barcelona legendXavi.[19][20]
On 29 August 2021, he played his first official match for Barcelona's first team in the 2–1La Liga win overGetafe, replacingSergi Roberto in the 73rd minute. On 18 December, he scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist in the 3–2 home win overElche.[21]
On 15 January 2023, Gavi scored a goal and provided two assists to be named man of the match in a 3–1 victory overReal Madrid in theSupercopa de España Final.[22] On 31 January, a Spanish court ruled in favor of accepting Gavi's new contract with Barcelona until 2026, signed in September the previous year, despite opposition from La Liga presidentJavier Tebas who argued that the new deal would not fit in the club's salary limit that season.[23] On the same day, Barcelona announced that Gavi would acquire the number 6 shirt, previously worn by his coach and Barcelona legend, Xavi.[24] On 21 March, a court ruling ordered that the new deal to be revoked as it would exceed the club's salary limit, and a return to his previous enrolment as a youth-team player with his old number 30 shirt.[25][26][27]
On 20 June 2023, Barcelona managed to complete Gavi's registration to La Liga as a first-team player, subsequently extended his contract with Barcelona until June 2026, which contained a release clause of €1bn.[28]
Having been injured since November 2023, Gavi came back to training on 12 September 2024.[29] After 348 days since his injury, he made his return to action on 20 October 2024 in a 5–1 victory againstSevilla, replacing his teammatePedri who handed him the captain's armband.[30] Similarly, he also made an appearance inEl Clásico as a substitute once again on 26 October 2024 where Barcelona won comfortably by 4–0 against Real Madrid in theBernabéu. He picked up a yellow card in the 90th minute following a clash with Vinicius Jr.[31] He scored his first goal of the season againstAthletic Bilbao in theSupercopa de España semi final tie where he also assisted teammateLamine Yamal in a 0–2 victory and eventually winning the cup.[32] On 31 January 2025, he extended his contract with the club until 2030.[33]
Gavi featured in the first two matches of Barcelona's openingLa Liga matches of the2025-26 season as a substitute, after which suffered amedial meniscus injury to his right knee and underwent surgery in early September 2025, ruling him out for an extended period of around four to five months. As of December 2025, he remains sidelined, with the club targeting a potential return in February 2026.[34]
Gavi has represented Spain at under-15 and under-16 level.[1][8]
On 30 September 2021, Gavi received a surprise call-up to the seniorSpain national team by the managerLuis Enrique. He made his debut in theirUEFA Nations Leaguesemi-final win againstItaly on 6 October, becoming the youngest player to ever represent Spain at senior level.[35][36] In thefinal againstFrance on 10 October, Spain ultimately suffered a 2–1 defeat.[37] On 5 June 2022, he scored his first senior goal in theNations League away against the Czech Republic, becoming the youngest player to ever score representing Spain at senior level.[38]
Gavi was named in Spain's squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in which he started in all four matches.[39] With his goal againstCosta Rica in Spain's first game of the tournament, Gavi became the third youngest player (only behindPelé andManuel Rosas) to score in a World Cup match.[40]
Graham Hunter ofESPN hailed Gavi as a highly promising young player in 2021, comparing him to former Barcelona midfieldersXavi andAndrés Iniesta due to his dribbling, anticipation, intelligence, vision, passing, first touch, close control, change of pace, and quick reflexes.[43] Following his performance in Spain's semi-final victory over Italy in the 2021 Nations League Finals, Italian defenderEmerson Palmieri described Gavi as a player who "has huge potential".[36]
Coach Hansi Flick has deployed Gavi in multiple midfield roles during 2025–26, leveraging his defensive work rate, pressing intensity, and technical ability to adapt to various tactical setups.[44]
^In isolation,Martín andGavira are pronounced[maɾˈtin] and[ɡaˈβiɾa] respectively.
^Navarro, Cristina (6 September 2021).""El equipo de Gavi"" ["Gavi's Team"].Marca (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved3 August 2022.
^Cala, Rafael (8 October 2021)."La Liara reivindica a Gavi: "Era Oliver Atom"" [La Liara vindicates Gavi: "He was Oliver Atom"].estadiodeportivo.com (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved8 October 2021.
^abNavarro, Alicia (4 December 2018)."Gavi, el maestro de La Masía" [Gavi, the maestro of La Masía].vavel.com (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved2 August 2021.
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