FC Barcelona player since 2019, Spanish midfielder Pedri (23 years old) has since established himself as a major element of the Catalan club (29 goals and 35 assists in 255 matches). However, some within Barça had strong doubts when the Culés paid 5 million euros to snatch the player from Las Palmas, when the latter was only 16 years old. This is what former Blaugrana leader (2018-2021), Ramón Planes, reveals.
“When I was at Barça, I had a lot of trouble getting Pedri’s transfer through. Many people within the club did not understand this operation. Paying five million euros for a 16-year-old player who had hardly played a minute in the second division seemed crazy, especially since the club had an excellent training center. I must also clarify that these doubts did not come from management, but from other sectors. I received messages on my cell phone from people asking me why I was spending this money. But they saw that I was convinced and they ended up accepting it. Barça has a very strong tradition of training, particularly midfielders, and many considered the recruitment of Pedri to be madness. When a player turns out to be good, everyone then says that he was the one who recruited him”he confided to Zona Mixta.
