Barcelona midfielder Pedri has revealed he was rejected by Real Madrid as a youngster as Los Blancos thought he did not have the quality to succeed when he went for a trial.
The 19-year-old has emerged as one of the most exciting players in world football during his time at Barcelona but told Cope that he could have ended up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“I went there and the first few days I couldn’t train because there was snow on the pitches, ” he said. “I trained three days. One I think they were playing, and they took me down with the B team to train, and in the end they told me that I didn’t have the level to be there and that they were going to leave me to keep looking.”
Pedri went on to stay that although he did not particularly appreciate being turned down by Real Madrid it did motivate him to prove himself elsewhere.
“At first, you don’t like being rejected anywhere, but then it motivates you to think that if they didn’t want you, now you’re going to work hard so that something else can come in the future,” he added. “Now I’m where I want to be [at Barcelona]. I have never met the person who said no to me. I don’t remember who he is. I would tell him that now I am enjoying myself at Barcelona.”
Pedri has already won the 2021 Golden Boy award, handed out to the best Under-21 player in Europe’s top five leagues, as well as the Kopa Trophy at the 2021 Ballon d’Or award. The Kopa Trophy goes to the best young player in men’s football.
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Pedri Reveals His Best Goal
Pedri also spoke about some of the highlights of his career so far and opened up on his best goal. The 19-year-old opted for his strike against Galatasaray in the last 16 of the Europa League and was happy to explain why.
“Ferran gave it to me and I saw that Marcao was coming so I didn’t touch the ball. I thought he was going to take it from me but he went to ground incorrectly and missed me, and when I went to shoot I saw another challenge that came in so I shot low,” he said. “If there was another challenge I would have kept going until I found the space. The truth is that it was a good goal. I think it’s the best one I’ve scored so far. But I hope better goals come.”
Pedri sent a few Galatasaray players for a few bags of chips with this goal #TR
The goal saw Barcelona make it 1-1 in Istanbul. The visitors went on to win the game through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half strike to move into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Pedri Talks Clasico Celebrations
Pedri also opened up on Barcelona’s impressive 4-0 win over fierce rivals Real Madrid last time out at the Santiago Bernabeu. There were extensive celebrations after the final whistle, which did not go down well in Madrid, but Pedri says it’s understandable his team were thrilled by the win.
“When you win 4-0 against your arch-rivals, you are going to celebrate it like this because you get immense joy,” he explained. “It was an unforgettable match, but now we are in the [Spanish] national team and we are all a team. Here we look the same and laugh the same way. We don’t hesitate with that. We are a team and we want to win together.”
The Clasico win saw Barcelona end a run of five straight defeats to Real Madrid, extend the team’s unbeaten run to 13 games, and close the gap on Sevilla in second place to just three points with a game in hand.
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‘They Told Me I Didn’t Have The Level:’ Barcelona Star on Real Madrid Snub