Wayne Meets…Xavi Simons: What It’s Really Like Being a Wonderkid

Wayne, Kelly Somers and Kae Kurd head to Tottenham’s training ground for an in-depth conversation with Tottenham’s exciting attacking midfielder, Xavi Simons. In a rare and revealing interview, Xavi opens up about his extraordinary journey from child prodigy to fully fledged international star, including what it was really like to have 2 million Instagram followers at just 12 years old, and why he feels fame stole parts of his youth.

Xavi and Wayne compare experiences of being hyped before making a senior debut, and dive into the huge life shifts that came with Xavi’s moves from the Netherlands to Barcelona, Paris, Leipzig and London. Xavi explains how he felt about leaving Barça for PSG at 16 and what it was like walking into a dressing room with Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti and how Neymar became a mentor to him.

Xavi shares why he chose Tottenham, his ambitions in the Premier League and the player who’s impressed him most in England since arriving.

He also discusses the influence of Ruud van Nistelrooy on his career, while Wayne reveals why he never imagined Van Nistelrooy as a manager and remembers when Ruud would get so frustrated with Cristiano Ronaldo that he’d walk off the United training pitch. Wayne also opens up about his childhood idol Duncan Ferguson, the letters he wrote to him in prison, and the time Barcelona’s goalkeeper accidentally drove over his foot as a kid.

You can watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sport YouTube, iPlayer, as well as listen on BBC Sounds.