Pedri: 500 glorious days

It sometimes feels like he’s been in the team forever, Barça, but it’s only 517 days since Pedri signed for the club on 1 July 2020, although because the coronavirus delayed things in the 2019/20 season, he’d have to wait until 12 September 2020 before Ronald Koeman played him in a friendly against Gimnàstic Tarragona. That was 444 days ago and the Canary Islander was still only 17.

He’s 19 now, and a very different person after so much has happened in such a short space of time. He made his Barça debut, scored his first goal, won the Copa del Rey, was named best young player at Euro 2020, won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and won the Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy. It’s been a lively time for someone who is still a teenager.

On the plane back from Paris, with the Kopa Trophy among his luggage, his showed that he hasn’t forgotten his roots, and the days when he only played football for fun. That wasn’t the distant past, it was just a few months ago. And look where he is now!