Xavi Torres · Biography

In July 2007, Villarreal used its buy-back option on Xavier Torres Buigues, who was at Alicante, and immediately sold him to FC Barcelona B. The deal took the midfielder out of Segunda División B, and two years later he made his top-flight debut. Xavi Torres was born on 21 November 1986 in the province of Alicante. A 1.82-metre defensive midfielder, he played in Spain, Australia and Kuwait between 2006 and 2023.

Villarreal academy and a year at Alicante

He came through Villarreal's youth system and reached the reserve team in 2005-06. Looking for regular football, he moved to Alicante, where he made his professional debut in 2006-07: 33 league games and four goals in the Spanish third tier, plus the promotion play-offs. On the strength of that season, Villarreal brought him back in the summer of 2007, just before selling him on to Barcelona.

Guardiola's Barcelona B and a La Liga debut

His first season with the Barcelona reserves, 2007-08, was under Pep Guardiola. Torres was part of the side that won the Tercera División and took Barcelona B back up to Segunda B. The following season he played 26 league games for the reserves. With the first team already crowned champions, he made his La Liga debut on 17 May 2009 in a 2-1 defeat at Mallorca. He played twice for the first team in 2008-09, the season Barcelona won the league.

Málaga and two seasons at Levante

In June 2009 he joined Málaga on a free transfer and a four-year deal. On 30 August 2009 he made his debut and scored his first La Liga goal in a 3-0 win over Atlético Madrid. Even so, he played only 11 league games that season, and in June 2010 Málaga loaned him to Levante. In Valencia he became a starter, with 35 league appearances in 2010-11 and 34, with five goals, in 2011-12. In that second season Levante finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League for the first time. The club had a €300,000 purchase option, but could not agree terms with the player.

Getafe and Real Betis

On 1 August 2012 a three-way deal between Levante, Getafe and Málaga took him to Getafe on a four-year contract. He played 35 league games in 2012-13. On 7 August 2013 he signed a four-year deal with Real Betis. That season he played six Europa League games and scored once, but in December 2013 he injured his Achilles tendon and missed the rest of a campaign that ended in relegation for Betis. In 2014-15 he made 26 league appearances and scored twice as Betis won the Spanish second division and returned to La Liga. After 12 league games in 2015-16, he terminated his contract on 15 August 2016.

Sporting Gijón, Australia and Kuwait

The same month, in August 2016, he signed a one-year deal with Sporting Gijón and made 17 La Liga appearances for the club. In September 2017 he left Spain for the first time to join Perth Glory in Australia's A-League, where he scored four goals in 24 games. On 31 July 2018 he returned to Spain with Elche in the second division and scored six goals in 29 league games. In August 2019 he moved to Kuwaiti club Al-Arabi under Juan Ignacio Martínez, his former coach at Levante. There he won the 2019-20 Kuwait Emir Cup.

The Osasuna case

He was named in the case over payments made by Osasuna directors to Betis players during the 2013-14 season. In April 2020 the Provincial Court of Navarre convicted him of sporting corruption. In January 2023 Spain's Supreme Court set the sentence at ten months in prison, a 22-month ban from professional football and a €400,000 fine. It was the first final criminal conviction of footballers for sporting corruption in Spain.

Lugo

In September 2020 he returned to Spanish football as a free agent with CD Lugo in the second division. He spent three seasons at the Anxo Carro, from 2020 to 2023, and scored six goals in 98 league games.