Pedri: 'I'm really looking forward to growing with the best in the world'

Last September, it was announced that FC Barcelona and Las Palmas had reached an agreement for the transfer of Pedri, but it wasn't until this summer that the young Canarian player was officially announced as a new Barça player. Pedri, who has been training for a few weeks with the rest of the new signings and the players who have returned from loan transfers, had his presentation this Thursday at the Camp Nou, as well as a press conference for the media.

The 17-year-old said that "I really want to enjoy and grow with the best in the world" and, in the same vein, commented that his first option is to "stay in the first team to learn from and enjoy playing with my teammates.”

His family have been Blaugrana since he was a child, and Pedri is proud and happy to have signed for Barça. "It's not every day you can sign for this club. I’m really looking forward to doing great things, but the pressure is the worst a footballer can have. You have to get rid of it as soon as possible and replace it with excitement," he said, describing himself as "a footballer who enjoys playing football." He added: "My idol has always been Andrés Iniesta and now I want to learn from the best, which is Leo Messi."

He also clarified: “Pedri is a nickname I have had since I was a child. Everyone knows me by that name and I want to keep it that way."

Ramon Planes: 'We want to build a young Barça team, with energy and quality'

At the press conference, Pedri was accompanied by the president of Barça, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and also by the head of the technical department, Ramon Planes. Bartomeu welcomed him and described him as "a very talented player, probably one of the best of his generation in all of Europe."

Ramon Planes explained the signing of Pedri was "one for the future, but it's important to strengthen the idea of bringing quality and youth to the team. We're proud to be able to present Pedri. His signing was done very quickly, in almost a month, because we clearly saw that he had talent. We want to build a young Barça team, with energy and quality and players like Pedri will help us."