It’s a sweltering day in south-east Spain and around 100 children are queuing up to meet a local hero.Xavi Simons was born in Amsterdam but grew up in the quiet village of Rojales in Alicante. The Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder is here to open a football pitch next to the school he attended before a life-changing move to Barcelona’s academy at the age of six.Despite the oppressive heat, Xavi signs every single shirt and takes photos with members of the Johan Cruyff Foundation. Since 2003, the Cruyff Foundation has presented an award for the Dutch Talent of the Year. A pitch is then built in honour of the winner in a location of their choosing. Simons received the award three years ago, and this is the spot he chose.(Cruyff Foundation)Xavi is only 23, yet it feels like he has been in the public consciousness forever. Video footage of a small figure with blonde curls gliding past defenders went viral before he was a teenager. Xavi was part of a formidable generation at La Masia, Barcelona’s renowned academy, which included future first-team stars Alejandro Balde, Fermin Lopez and Gavi. He starred in an advert for Nike when he was only 15 alongside Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo and Kevin De Bruyne.A year later, he joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he rubbed shoulders with Argentina captain Lionel Messi, Brazilian icon Neymar, and the rising star of world football, Kylian Mbappe. Following an impressive loan spell at PSV, he made his debut for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup at the age of 19. He then excelled across a two-year spell in Germany with RB Leipzig, prompting Spurs to spend €60million (£51.8m; $70m) on him last summer.Xavi should have played a key role for the Netherlands at this summer’s World Cup but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April that means he is unlikely to play again until 2027. The setback has provided Xavi with the rare opportunity to spend more time with his family, including his grandmother Rinia, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease around five years ago.Xavi speaks six languages and has lived in some of the world’s most iconic cities. Rojales is not particularly glamorous but it holds a special place in Xavi’s heart, despite the difficulties his family faced while they lived there. His long-term goal is to buy his former home, but for now, he lives in a multi-storey apartment about half an hour’s drive away.The pitch where Xavi Simons grew up playing football (Jay Harris)“When I come back here I’m far away from reality,” he says. “People see me like the little Xavi that they always saw, not the Xavi from Tottenham and the national team. It makes me happy, feeling that the people are proud of me. I can walk down the street without any problem. I’m in peace here.”The Athletic visited Xavi in his hometown to learn more about his incredible journey.Xavi was born on his brother Faustino’s seventh birthday, whose Barcelona-themed party was due to take place at the family home but there was a late change of venue.“The night before I felt something,” Peggy, Xavi’s mother, tells The Athletic. “I called my mum (Rinia) and said, ‘You better go with everybody to a playground’. I gave birth in my room.“I had a name for him but when we saw the baby I said, ‘It does not match.’ He was so white, no hair, ugly. Faustino was a beautiful baby. Everybody was a little bit shocked. I said, ‘I’m going to change the name, so just say baby Simons’. He had no name for five days. Then I watched Barcelona playing, and I saw Xavi Hernandez on the screen.”Xavi Simons quickly proved he was worthy of being named after the midfielder who went on to win the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.“When he went to kindergarten, he went in full kit, boots and a ball,” Peggy says. “I have videos of Xavi when he is two, explaining technical details about the game. How can a boy of two understand this? He also knew all the badges of the clubs in Holland, the players and the coaches.”Peggy’s parents, Rinia and John, were both born in the former Dutch colony Suriname on the north-east coast of South America. They moved to the Netherlands to study and pursue work. Peggy grew up in the Netherlands and worked as a check-in clerk for Suriname Airways but decided to move to Spain after regularly visiting a close friend in Barcelona.A young Xavi with his grandmother, Rinia (Simons family)Peggy tried to buy a house in the city, “but it was too expensive”, so she turned her attention to Alicante, which was “five times cheaper”. Even though “there was nothing, only orange trees” in Rojales, Peggy bought a small apartment with Rinia. Peggy officially moved in with her mum, younger sister Priscilla and two sons when Xavi was three. All five of them shared the same bed. Peggy wanted her children to experience a new culture and language, but the economic crisis that hit in the late 2000s had a significant impact.“It was complicated,” Peggy says. “There was no work. I thought maybe I needed to go back (to Amsterdam) but if I go back I have failed, and I am not failing. My mum helped me a lot and my family sent money without asking because I wasn’t going to ask.”Xavi was oblivious to the problems his family were dealing with. He would attend school each day until 3pm, eat dinner at home before rushing over to a concrete football pitch around the corner. He would spend a couple of hours playing with his friends and have a few scoops of ice cream before training at Club Deportivo Thader’s facilities in the evening.“I spent the whole day outside and was happy with basic things in life,” Xavi says. “With time I have realised (the living situation) was not normal but my mum had to make sacrifices. I just want to thank her for not showing me how difficult it was. Giving her what I give her means the world to me.