Who is Noah Darvich? U17 WC-winning Barca talent with €1bn release clause

Barcelona youngster Noah Darvich has already trained with the Blaugrana first team and captained Germany to U17 World Cup glory.

The 17-year-old arrived from Freiburg over the summer and was fitted with an eye-watering €1 billion release clause, illustrating how highly the youngster is rated.

Many elite sides in Europe tried to land the German, but who is Noah Darvich and how good is he really?

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What position does Darvich play in?

Darvich is an attacking midfielder who can also be utilised in wider areas.

How good is Darvich?

A Freiburg native and product of the local Bundesliga side’s youth system, Darvich impressed back home so much as to be regarded as one of Germany’s biggest talents. Indeed, he was honoured as such earlier in 2023 when he received the illustrious silver Fritz Walter Medal in his age group (Dortmund wonderkid Paris Brunner received gold, Schalke youngster Assan Ouedraogo bronze).

Freiburg, a club famed for their player development both in terms of local youngsters – 21-year-old Freiburg-born Noah Atubolu is currently their starting goalkeeper – and signed players, gave Darvich a clear development path, which would have seen him feature for their reserve team this season, who currently play in the third division.

However, when Barcelona come knocking, it is hard to refuse and Darvich departed in the summer for €2.5 million with €5m in potential bonuses and, as mentioned, he was fitted with a €1bn release clause and became the Blaugrana’s first-ever player of Iraqi descent.

An attacking midfielder/winger with silky smooth skills, Darvich plays with a youthful exuberance and audacity reminiscent of one Lamine Yamal, who is already starring for the Barca first team. Though the German is still finding his feet at Barca Atletic, the reserves playing in the third tier, he was already called up by Xavi to represent the senior side in an intra-Barca friendly against this very same Atletic. According to Sport, he was one of the standout performers.

The captain of Germany’s U17, Darvich led his country to World Cup glory in Indonesia, netting in the final to give the Germans a 2-0 advantage over France. The game would ultimately go to penalties, but Darvich nevertheless got the lift the trophy at the end of the day.

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What clubs are interested in Darvich?

Prior to his move, Bayern and PSG were named among his suitors, but given that he only recently signed for Barcelona, rumours around his future will be quiet for a while. Yet it must be said that this does not mean that he is a shoo-in to eventually make it to the first team.

Barcelona have a history of fumbling youngsters with the likes of Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo springing to mind. They must give Darvich a clear path to the seniors or else those other admirers will come knocking again, though it’s reasonable to say that nobody will be crazy enough to pay his release clause.

When does Darvich’s contract expire?

Given that he is under 18, Darvich’s initial Barcelona contract only runs until June 30, 2026.

How old is Darvich?

Darvich was born on September 25, 2006, making him 17 years old.

What is Darvich’s Instagram?

Darvich’s Instagram account is @noahdarvich and has 179k followers as of October 2023.