Country: Spain
Club: Barcelona
Position: Central Midfielder
Age: 19
The central midfielder for La Liga Club Barcelona and the Spanish national team is Pedro González López.
Pedri is a quick, intelligent, artistic, and diligent player who is renowned for his excellent technical skills, ball control, passing, awareness, and vision, as well as his ability to manage himself in confined spaces, take advantage of openings, and play the ball or penetrating passes, which makes him an effective playmaker.
On August 18, 2019, Pedri, then just 16 years old, made his professional debut by starting in a Segunda División home loss to Huesca that ended 0-1 for Huesca. At 16 years, 9 months, and 23 days old, he became the youngest goalscorer in Las Palmas history on September 19, when he scored his first professional goal and the game’s lone goal in a victory over Sporting Gijón at home.
The player signed a two-year contract with the Catalan club for €5 million, which would rise as he met certain contract requirements. [14] Assigned to the starting lineup for the 2020–21 campaign and wearing the number 16 shirt, Pedri made his La Liga debut on September 27 by taking Philippe Coutinho’s place in a 4-0 home victory over Villarreal. [16] He made his first start on October 17 in a 0–1 away loss to Getafe. In a 5-1 victory over Ferencváros on October 20 in the group stage, Pedri scored his first goal for the team on his UEFA Champions League debut after replacing Ansu Fati in the 61st minute.
He scored his first La Liga goal on November 7 in a 5-2 victory at home against Real Betis.
Pedri in the middle of October 2021 signed a new deal with Barcelona that included a record €1 billion ($1.57 billion) release clause. On November 29, Pedri received the 2021 Kopa Trophy from France Football, which is given to the top player under the age of 21.
Pedri was called up to the Spain under-21 team on August 21, 2020. He made his debut on September 3, 2020, in a 1-0 away victory against Macedonia during a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match.
Prior to the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, coach Luis Enrique called up Pedri for the first time in March 2021. He made his debut on March 25 against Greece.
Style of play
In the football media, Pedri is recognized as one of the most talented young players in the world. Pedri frequently plays in a free role, which gives him the freedom to move around the field. He prefers to occupy center areas and work between the lines, but he is also capable of drifting out wide and rushing towards the touchline to create opportunities for teammates. In order to recover the ball, he even dives deep into the defense. He typically lines up on the left or right flank, or even as the number eight.
He did switch from playing as a winger to a central midfield position; however, he can also play as an attacking midfielder and in a variety of different offensive and midfield positions. He has also occasionally been played as a center forward and a defensive midfielder.
