Pedri to feature on ‘ORIGINS’ series

Pedri is the subject of the fourth installment of the ORÍGENS documentary series, which premieres on Wednesday, November 25, on Barça TV +, coinciding with the player’s 18th birthday. This latest episode looks back at his beginnings in football through to his debut in the Primera División, and includes a series of in-depth, previously unseen interviews with his family and different key figures in his career. 

Produced by Barça Studios, the series is available on demand in Catalan, Spanish and English on the club’s streaming platform. 

The documentary begins with present day footage of Pedri and his brother Fer walking through the natural pools of Bajamar (Tenerife), where they spent their early childhood before moving with the whole family to the neighboring town of Tegueste -where his parents still run a bar. The two siblings talk about their childhood memories, whilst their father, mother and grandmother recall how they played football from an early age, both indoors and in the town square.

"Before I was born, I was already a Barça fan," says Pedri, who explains how his grandfather was the founder of the FC Barcelona ‘penya’ supporters club in Tegueste, and emphasises how a passion for the club is a family tradition. 

Over the course of a documentary running for almost 40 minutes, different figures who played a key role in the player’s development give their thoughts on Pedri. Among them are his first coaches, Iván Jesús Navarro and Rubén Delgado, from CDAFB Tegueste, who recount how from a very young age Pedri already stood out for his great qualities both on and off the pitch. Coaches such as Ayoze Hernández, from Juventud Laguna, where Pedri arrived in 2015, as well as Pepe Mel, who promoted him to the UD Las Palmas first team and gave him his debut on August 18, 2019, talk about the teenage talent.

Also participating in the documentary are the CEO of UD Las Palmas, Patricio Viñayo, who remembers the first time he heard about a boy who "despite not standing out for his fitness, was different,"as well as Roberto Arocha, the club’s recruitment coordinator, who recalls the conversations with Pedri's parents to take him to Las Palmas. Miguel Rodríguez ‘Tonono’, the head of the club’s scouting system, shows the La Casa Amarilla youth academy residence. 

ORIGINS: An original series from Barça Studios

The ORIGINS series, which has previously dedicated episodes to Arthur, Umtiti and Trincao, is produced by Barça Studios. The FC Barcelona audiovisual centre has also produced the documentary series Matchday, about the Barça first team during the 2018/19 season, and the film El Despertar, as well as a fiction series inspired by La Masia with Albert Espinosa as screenwriter, and animation product Talent Explorers. The latter two are still in production.

ORIGINS is part of the content section called ORIGINALS, included within the Barça TV + platform, which FC Barcelona launched on 3 June. The platform is available globally through the club's website and app, and for all devices - tablet, smartphone and PC/Mac. Thanks to ‘cast’ technology, it is also possible to watch content on a SmartTV or a traditional TV through devices such as Chromecast.