Cubarsi Names Mbappe the Toughest Forward He Has Faced

At an age when most defenders are still learning the trade in reserve-team football, Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi has already spent two seasons marking some of the most feared attackers in Europe. Asked by ESPN to rank the forwards who give him the most trouble, the teenager produced a list that reads like a short history of modern attacking football.

Kylian Mbappe took first place. Messi, Cubarsi said, was either first or second, and he settled on second. Cristiano Ronaldo came third, Ousmane Dembele fourth and Vinicius Junior fifth. The order is a small thing, but it says something about how a young defender experiences the game: raw speed and direct running frighten him more than reputation.

Cubarsi’s rise has been unusually quick. He came through Barcelona’s La Masia academy and was pushed into the first team while still a schoolboy, playing in La Liga and the Champions League against opponents twice his age. That exposure is why his opinion carries weight beyond a single interview. He is not judging forwards from television highlights; he has stood next to them.

Mbappe’s placement will not surprise many. Since moving to Real Madrid, the French forward has been the focal point of the club’s attack and the man Barcelona defenders see most often in the biggest matches. The Clasico is where Cubarsi’s list becomes more than a talking point, because Mbappe and Vinicius both play for the club Barcelona face most often at the sharp end of the season.

Messi and Ronaldo appearing side by side is a reminder that the generation that dominated football for more than a decade has not quite left the conversation. Messi now plays in the United States, Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, yet both still shape how defenders think about the position. Dembele’s fourth place is the more contemporary note: the French winger has reinvented himself as a central attacking threat and is no longer the inconsistent talent of his early twenties.

For Barcelona, the interview is a useful window into the club’s defensive future. Cubarsi is part of a young core the club hopes will anchor the team for a decade, and his willingness to name names rather than hide behind cliches fits the direct style that has made him popular with supporters.

The forward who did not make the list is also worth noting. Cubarsi was asked about specific names, so the omission of other leading strikers is not a verdict. Still, rankings like these travel quickly, and the next Clasico will give Mbappe and Vinicius a chance to answer in the only way that matters.

Cubarsi, meanwhile, keeps collecting opponents. Every season adds a new name to the file, and the defender’s list will probably look different in two years. For now, the teenager has made his call: the fastest, most direct forward he has faced is the one at Real Madrid.