Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Pedri has hailed his former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi, saying he is the only player capable of doing the things he can at his age.
Spain midfielder Pedri only managed to play one season with Blaugrana great Messi, before he departed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
Messi is considered by many pundits to be the greatest player of all time, having enjoyed a star-studded career, which included winning the World Cup with Argentina four years ago.
At the age of 39, he is still impressing on the world stage, scoring five goals in two matches for the defending champions at the ongoing World Cup to become the all-time leading scorer in the tournament’s history (currently 18).
For Barca, Messi won 10 LaLiga titles and the Champions League on four occasions during a trophy-laden era, having risen through the famed La Masia academy.
Lionel Messi has now scored more goals than any other player in World Cup history (17). pic.twitter.com/bcPKnmiwuA
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 22, 2026
And Pedri remains in awe of Messi, telling DSports: “I had the luck of being able to play and train with him and I enjoyed and learned a lot from him. Now, well, I enjoy him very much.
“I think that many times you see the game on TV, and if you just start looking at him, he is looking at where the free gap is or where he is going to be able to receive it alone. In terms of of quality, he is overflowing, he has more than all the others.
“He sees football a little before the others and knows where to be to score a goal. I think that what he does with the age he has, only he can do.”
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