In the words of Xavi, Luis Enrique, or Lopetegui, Pedri is unique, precious, and exceptionally talented in Spanish football.

“If we talk about pure talent, he is the best in the world.” – Xavi Hernandez.

“Pedri is an amazing, excellent, unique player.” – Luis Enrique.

“Among all the players I’ve seen, Pedri is the most special.” – Julen Lopetegui.

“I just want to enjoy what I can do, that’s the best thing.” – Pedri.

These are the praises from the coaches who have led and are currently leading Pedri, as well as his own affirmations about himself at the present moment.

Xavi once said Pedri reminds him of the legendary Iniesta. Xavi, also a football legend, elevated Pedri’s value with such a comparison.

In the past, Enrique was the one who promoted Iniesta to Barcelona’s first team. Later, when Pedri emerged and shone at the age of 18, Enrique had to compare: “No one has seen that talent before, not even Mr. Iniesta.”

Xavi still says he doesn’t have the sole credit for molding Pedri into the talent he is today. The young midfielder of Barca believes that his style of play is not heavily influenced by anyone, not paying too much attention to external pressures. In Pedri’s thoughts, Iniesta has always been the most outstanding, a high-class playing model with simplicity.

“The way Iniesta could leave opponents behind with just a ball roll always amazes me.” – Pedri shares.

Pedri grew up in Tegueste, Tenerife, Spain. His father, Mr. Fernando, used to be a goalkeeper in the third division but later quit to run a restaurant business. In this area, there are Barcelona fans who often gather at Mr. Fernando’s restaurant. Pedri’s grandfather took the initiative to establish a football team from these fans in 1994.

Later, when current Barca President Laporta came to Pedri’s house, everything began for a promising journey. Pedri still remembers that he wa𝚗ted to appear before Laporta with a head style similar to Iniesta’s.

At the age of 13, Pedri appeared in a book about football talents from the Canary Islands, preceding him were David Silva and Juan Carlos Valerón. It’s a source of pride for a place not considered a breeding ground for many outstanding talents.

“The boy is a good player, a calm midfielder, knows how to defend and even play in the air. Anywhere in Bajamar can be a place to play, like the beach, on the concrete pitch in front of the house, or just a vacant space big enough.” – Mr. Fernando recalls playing football with his son.

Such memories have made Pedri grow up a lot. However, his journey to success today was not all roses. With a small and quite skinny figure as a young talent, Pedri was rejected by many teams like Villarreal, Deportivo, and even the local team Tenerife.

It was very difficult, Pedri was only recruited by Las Palmas in 2019. He spent one season there, scoring 4 goals in 36 appearances before being welcomed by Enrique to Barcelona.

Even in the journey with Barca, the early stages were not explosive as Pedri only played 26 games in the youth team. After that, Enrique called up Pedri to the Spanish national team for EURO 2020. Although the tournament had many regrets, it was wonderful to bring Pedri the Golden Boy 2021 title.