Takefusa Kubo: Bio, Salary, Net Worth, Lifestyle, Club & International Career

There is absolutely no shortage of talent in La Liga. While the spotlight now shines on a particular winger from Barcelona, along with Athletic's left-winger, there is a Japanese talent in Real Sociedad that no football fanatic should sleep on. Yes, we are talking about none other than Takefusa Kubo. Famously known as the Japanese Messi, a name that was given to Kubo after his skills that match those of Lionel Messi. Kubo is an asset for his club and national team.

For the Samurai Blues in particular, Kubo is one of the generational talents. From dribbling to creativity, the La Masia product has been exceptional in international tournaments. Yes, you saw it right. Kubo was invited to train at La Masia and was set to follow the footsteps of the great Lionel Messi.

While a momentary challenge made him head back to Japan and leave the academy, he bounced back better. Joining the biggest rivals of Barcelona in 2019, Real Madrid, he was sent out on loans due to game time. The Japanese worked his way and rose through those spells and finally found his home in Real Sociedad, where he shone for his dribbling skills and an eye for goal.

His progress has attracted many European giants after the 2024-25 campaign, with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich being the closest admirers.

While the future of the young Samurai Blue is not settled yet, let us take a moment and reflect on his early life and net worth. We will also take a look at his professional journey so far.

Takefusa Kubo Bio

Takefusa Kubo Family and Early Life

A generational footballing talent in the era of modern football, Takefusa started his footballing journey with the local clubs in Kawasaki. It did not take long for the young Samurai Blue to get his big break, as in 2009, Barcelona's youth camp was impressed by the Japanese and invited him to join the Barca's academy, La Masia, in 2011. However, the young winger had to face the biggest hurdle right after his big break as FIFA issues forced him to return to Japan in 2015, even after scoring 74 goals for the academy in one season. Kubo then joined FC Tokyo.
He had some of his greatest years during his stints at Tokyo U23 and Yokohama. Though very little is public on Kubo's family, it has always been clear that he comes from a family that believed, arguably the same as him on his dreams and passion. They are supportive of his career and decisions to this day.

He bounced back to European football after signing for Real Madrid back in 2019. He was moved to multiple clubs on loan spells to get some game time before finding his home in Real Sociedad.
As things stand, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich are the closest admirers of the Japanese winger. However, the 60 million euro release clause complicates the deal. Moreover, Real Madrid's rights on the players complicate the deal even more, something that can be a dealbreaker for the potential clubs.

Playing Style and Strengths

Generally plays as a right winger, Takefusa Kubo can also play as an attacking midfielder. However, his favorite is on the right-hand side, from where he can cut in to make a shot with his left. Yes, unlike the modern wingers who prefer cutting out to make a cross, Kubo prefers making a chance for himself after dribbling past the defenders from outside the box.

While it might seem like all the modern wingers play in a similar manner, it is far from the truth. And Takefusa Kubo is a living example of it. He dribbles with intent and makes sure the ball moves towards the goal as he does so, something that adds value to the team game.

Takefusa is known for his close control with the ball, along with quick dribbling and great vision. He particularly excels in the close spaces and draws in the defenders to himself to create space for his teammates, eventually passing the ball to them in open spaces. Moreover, his low center of gravity makes him very agile, which makes it even more difficult for the defenders to deal with him. It is these traits that made people refer to him as ‘Japanese Messi’ adorably.

However, by no means, the young Samurai Blue all about talent. He is one of the players in his national and club teams who has an exceptional work rate. And this is not something only seen in the training grounds, as you will see him track back for his club and international team to support his full-back, making him a complete winger.

Takefusa Kubo Net Worth

As of 2025, Takefusa Kubo net worth is estimated to be between 8.5 million euros to 10 million euros. This staggering number comes from his salaries from the contracts he has had with the clubs so far in his career. Moreover, some bonuses add to his net worth as well.

Apart from the salaries and bonuses from the contract, Kubo also has endorsement deals that contribute a lot to his net worth, along with his investments, which promise great returns in the future.

Takefusa Kubo Salary

Takefusa Kubo salary has seen significant growth 2 times in the last 8 years, once in the 2020/21 season and another increment was in the 2022/23 season. Now that you are aware of Takefusa Kubo's estimated net worth, let us take the time to check out his salaries over the years, by Capology:

Takefusa Kubo Partner

One of the great values in the Japanese winger is that he does not reveal much about his relationships in public, whether it is about his parents, friends, or someone special. Naturally, there is not much information available on his romantic interests. However, it is safe to say that Kubo is single as of 2025, and all of his focus goes to his life on the pitch, where he strives to improve himself every day. The Japanese winger is making headlines right now for all the right reasons, as there are big clubs interested in the Real Sociedad young winger.

Takefusa Kubo Career

Takefusa Kubo's journey from a football-loving kid playing on the streets of Kawasaki to one of the promising wingers in modern football has been a tale of determination and discipline. From his days playing for La Masia to being an asset for the Real Sociedad, he has seen an impressive trajectory in his career.

Club Career

After his return from Spain (La Masia), Kubo joined the youth setup of FC Tokyo. There, he rose through the ranks quickly and made his debut in 2016, at the age of 15. That made him one of the youngest debutants in Japanese football history.

In 2018, he moved to Yokohama F. Marinos on a loan move to get more first-team experience and a chance to showcase his technical abilities with the ball.

His big break after the challenge back in 2015 came with Real Madrid in 2019, when the young Samurai Blue signed a five-year contract with the Los Blancos. Due to foreign player restrictions and fewer chances in the squad, Kubo was sent on a series of loan spells across teams in La Liga.

His first loan move was to RCD Mallorca, where his quick feet and passing range caught a lot of attention across Europe. Following Mallorca, he made another move to Villarreal and Getafe. Since it did not work with Unai Emery's plans in Villarreal, Real called Kubo back and sent him on another spell, this time at Getafe.

But that was not his last loan spell as Kubo returned to RCD Mallorca for another spell. This (2021-22) spell was his last loan spell.

In 2022, Kubo made a permanent move to Real Sociedad. Under coach Imanol Alguacil, Kubo's playing style has seen a new maturity, which has added a lot of value to the team. Let us look at his stats so far in club football, by FotMob:

International Career

In addition to finally finding his rhythm with Real Sociedad, Takefusa Kubo is also a regular in the Samurai Blue. He made massive contributions in the international tournaments. Here are his stats so far for the Japanese National Football Team, by FotMob:

Takefusa Kubo's Awards and Achievements

While the Japanese international has been phenomenal for his club and country all these years, so far in his journey, the only silverware he has is the Europa League Winner trophy that he won with Villarreal CF back in 2020-21 under Unai Emery.