Beyond the rich final result, one of the striking themes from the Japan vs Peru friendly preview was the difference in the market value of both teams. Gianluca Lapadula, the most expensive Peruvian player of the last round, surpasses only seven of the entire Japanese team. The blue samurai have several players in top leagues in Europe and one of the most prominent is the young man Takefusa Kubo. At just 22, he has been part of the Old Continent’s elite for more than a season.
Although Kubo made headlines in Peru, largely for leaving the jersey he swapped with Alexander Callens on the pitch, the truth is that he is a player who has been in the football world limelight since he was a child. Takefusa Kubo is one of the young Japanese talents who already have international contacts at the most important national team tournaments, including the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
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Who is Takefusa Kubo?
Takefuso Kubo was born on June 4, 2006 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He gained notoriety from a young age as, at the age of 10, he traveled from one continent to another to be part of La Masía del Barcelona. The young Japanese was forced to leave the club due to the sanction Barça received from FIFA in 2015. There he began preparing for the leap into professional football at FC Tokyo.
Takefusa Kubo played his first season in Japan’s third division with Tokyo FC reserves when he was just 15 years old. He made his J1 League debut on November 26, 2017, when he played in the 2-1 defeat by Sanfraecce Hiroshima on Matchday 33. The promising winger solidified in 2019, the season in which he also made his first call-up. Japan’s senior team has just turned 18.
Real Madrid then signed Takefusa Kubo because they had a future plan with him. Photo: AFP
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Takefusa Kubo and the leap to Spanish football
Takefusa Kubo’s glorious return to Europe for the first time since growing up at La Masía came in 2019. Real Madrid bought him from FC Tokyo as they see him as one of the most promising youngsters in world football. Despite this, Kubo never managed to debut in the first team. Madrid loaned him to Mallorca, Getafe and Villareal where, except for the Pirates, he was mainly a substitute.
After a final season with Mallorca in LaLiga, Takefusa Kubo returned from loan and was sold to Real Sociedad. Although there was speculation at the time that Real Madrid would keep a buyback option for him, he ultimately distanced himself completely and only had one preferential option for the young Japanese for the next five years. In his first season, Kubo shone as a regular and qualified with his team for the Champions League.
Takefusa Kubo enjoyed the best season of his career so far at Real Sociedad. Photo: AFP
How much is Takefusa Kubo worth?
According to Transfermarkt, Takefusa Kubo has a current market value of around 25 million euros. That puts him five million euros above the peak he’s reached in his career to date, when he returned to Madrid from his first loan in mid-2020. The Japan winger had a dip in his numbers when he left the Whites but a great season at Real Sociedad has put him back on top.