Pedri has had one of the most compelling and surprising growth trajectories in the last few seasons in football. The young player, having arrived from Las Palmas in 2020 has become an integral part of the Barcelona squad.
FC Barcelona paid Las Palmas €5 million in 2019 for the purchase of Pedri but sent him back to Las Palmas for another year on loan. Pedri formally came to Camp Nou in 2020, with relatively little expectations of an immediate impact, as he was still only 18 years old.
However, he soon became a part of the first team because of his reliable performances in a chaotic period at the club and has not looked back since then. His importance for the team has risen to such an extent that his injury in the match against Manchester United is being justly seen as a season-defining event for the club.
And while the FC Barcelona faithful will certainly be sorrowful with his injury, Pedri’s opponents are sensing relief on not having to face the mercurial midfielder in their matches against the Catalans.
Such is the case for the Cadiz player, Ruben Alcaraz, whose team faces FC Barcelona this weekend. Alcaraz recently spoke with SPORT, and in addition to showing his appreciation on not having to face Pedri, also went on to praise the youngster for his skills and maturity beyond his years.
He described Pedri as a player who plays football which is not normal for a player of his age, and also disclosed the fact that he has made a bet with his friends that Pedri will one day win the Balon d’Or.
Alcaraz also went on to praise another FC Barcelona youngster who has risen tremendously in the last season, Gavi. The Cadiz player saw Gavi as a true box-to-box player, having lots of character. He also believed that Gavi is growing with every game, and will go on to grow for some time now to become a great footballer.
