When David Barrufet became a world champion with Spain in 2005, his son, Ian, was only eight months old. It might sound farfetched, but somehow, the family knew that Ian was going to become a handball player.

“I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. I love handball and it was very difficult not to become a handball player, because I was in the arena since I was little, following my father. Therefore, for me, it was written to play handball,” says the 21-year-old left wing.

But nobody could guarantee that he will follow in his father’s footsteps and carry the Barrufet name in handball and especially not become so proficient at such a young age.

Just a small summary of Ian Barrufet’s career is already impressive: a Youth World Champion in 2023, European champion at both the Under-20 and Under-18 level and the top goal scorer in the EHF European League Men last season, where he featured for German club MT Melsungen.

He was part of that fantastic Spanish generation, which also had Petar and Djordje Cikuša, which secured three consecutive titles – two European and the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship one – falling at the last hurdle this summer, at the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, where they tried to win four out of four, but eventually settled for the ninth position.

Now, after a one-year loan to Melsungen, to facilitate his development, as he would have been the third choice on the left wing at Barcelona behind Hampus Wanne and Aitor Arino last season, he is back in the Spanish powerhouse’s squad.

“Well, it's a dream come true to be part of this squad. Since I was a kid, I think that the kids who like this sport always dream of playing for Barça, a club with so much history and tradition. Of course, everybody also dreams to play for the national team too. And to be able to do that after so much work and so much sacrifice, I think it's a pleasure,” says Barrufet.

Born in Teià, on the outskirts of Barcelona, Ian went to the arena following his father all time. But he did not become a goalkeeper, as David, but tried to be an outfield player. Eventually, he settled for the left wing position.

But he is not your usual left wing – short and pacy – rather brings a whole another dimension to his game, with his 1,94m height. After excelling at the youth and junior level, he also made his debut for the Spain senior national team in January 2025 and played at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship in January.

There, he was used by Jordi Ribera both as an intermediate defender, as well as the advanced defender in the 5-1 system, underlining his versatility and tactical acumen, being one of the new additions in a total rebuild for “Los Hispanos”.

“When I was a kid I did play other sports, but I always think that I was born asking for a handball and that when I saw the first matches, I fell in love with this sport. And every time I play, I enjoy it a lot,” says the left wing.

And now, Barrufet is also making his debut at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, following the pathway covered by many Barcelona talents in the past, who featured in the competition at a young age.

Sure, in modern handball, which sees youngsters thrown into the fight being 21 years old might make them being considered already experienced players, but Barcelona carefully chose to develop Barrufet year-by-year and now they are reaping the rewards.

After the first two days of the competition, the left wing is the top scorer of the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, with 13 goals, as he constantly punished Handebol Taubate in Barcelona’s 41:22 win on Saturday evening.

“I think we played a good game. We took the ball to the wings a lot. We defended well and I'm happy for the team,” said Barrufet after the match.

While Barcelona are the most decorated team in the history of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, with five titles, they are still looking for their first win since 2019, conceding losses in the final in 2021 and 2022, and finishing third and fourth respectively in the previous two editions.

But with a younger team – an average age of 25.4 years, five years younger than Magdeburg – they are recalibrating for the future. And with a player who has a bulletproof mentality like Barrufet, things can only go higher.

"It has always been my dream to play at Barcelona and win titles."

“You know the difference between a good player and a top player? The top player trains at 100% every day. This is what helps you be above others, who are only good players. Those were the words that my father told me that I kept to heart even to this day,” adds Barrufet, whose father is the second most capped player in Spain’s history, with 280 matches.