On the back of impressive showings for La Roja and Barcelona, La Masia wunderkind Gavi began turning heads.
And the managerial change which occurred in the form of Xavi taking the reigns seems to have placed Gavi at the forefront of Barcelona’s rebuild.
The fanfare around the 17-year-old continues to grow, with an excellent performance against Elche granting him further adoration from Culers.
With more eyes on him than ever, this rather peculiar habit of Gavi couldn’t go unnoticed.
Eagle-eyed fans began to take note of the Spaniard’s tendency to leave the laces of his boots untied.
Instances of Gavi competing in games without tying his laces date back months, the reason for this emerged shortly after.
Apparently, the 17-year-old still isn’t adept at tying his laces and has simply gotten used to playing that way.
‘Why doesn’t Gavi tie his shoelaces?’
— infosfcb (@infosfcb) December 18, 2021
🗣️ Marc Prats: “He got used to this from a young age because he didn’t know how to tie it, and now he’s used to it and he doesn’t care.” pic.twitter.com/2XDUvBw0An
This drew concern from fans online as a mere trip on the laces could lead to a period on the sidelines for Gavi, or a crucial chance might go begging if the laces were to get convoluted amongst themselves.
Some fans offered up the suggestion of moving to lace-less boots, hence getting rid of the conundrum altogether.
Evidently, the matter has also become a talking point within the Barca dressing room, with fellow La Masia compatriot Nico Gonzalez poking fun at Gavi for failing to know a relatively trivial task.
He posted an Instagram story, featuring a picture of him tying Gavi shoelaces, along with a caption. The translation reads “Time to learn…”
When one possesses the ability that Gavi does, it’s only natural that every bit of decision-making on their part becomes subject to speculation.
This stems from the seemingly distinct patterns in which Gavi’s shoelaces get untied.
One can catch the knots tied together strongly during pre-match warm-ups or even the first half of many games.
However, in the El Clasico back in October, Gavi’s shoelaces were only untied either on the left boot or the right boot, raising rumors of perhaps a superstition being the motivation behind the act.
