"A league title to prolong the ASOBAL legacy of the Barrufet saga"

Ian Barrufet returned this past summer to Barça established as an absolute international and a 'unicorn' born in the ASOBAL ecosystem. It was the result of a gradual evolution, which already guaranteed a wide range of solutions with the ball in his hands and being a winger who defends in advance and with a lot of solvency. The NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League title that he has lifted this weekend is one more snapshot of a career that is expected to be special, recovering historic passages of the Barrufet surname and drawing even more parallels with David, his father.

Reality, on the one hand, and twice candidate for the ASOBAL Hall of Fame, the other side of the coin, in a family saga of success that has just been born. Ian collects arguments to try the challenge of reaching his father's status. The one from the 2025/2026 season is his third NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League title, the first with maximum responsibilities, being a key piece in Carlos Ortega's schemes, with his best scoring average in the competition and proving to be capable of generating a lot from the discretion of the engine room.

He confirms the sensations of his particular 'Erasmus' last season in Germany. He embodied on the track the evolution in his last two courses in ASOBAL dynamics being one of the sensations of the Bundesliga and lifting the award for best young 24/25 of the European Handball Federation (EHF). From initial aspirations to propose scenarios of a few chosen ones.

With the ability to sacrifice, becoming omnipresent in the positional scheme and in the locker room, with personality and leadership, a radiography that is increasingly closer to David Barrufet. He is one of the goalkeepers in ASOBAL history that transcended the narrower scope of the track, always linked to the colors of Barça, being one of the great 'One Club Man' of international handball after 20 seasons defending the goal of the Palau Blaugrana.

David was also another reality forged in the ASOBAL scenario until becoming one of the leaders of the 'Dream Team' directed by Valero Rivera and that led him to conquer all the great titles. From 12 leagues to 7 Champions League, raising the professional competition to the top of Europe. The shirt that hangs from the ceiling of the Palau with the Barrufet surname, this one with long sleeves and a goalkeeper's cut, is a guide and a mirror in which Ian, the '88' of Barça, looks at himself, with one more NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League in a record that promises to keep growing.