The Spaniard has been plagued by fitness problems in recent years, but he's in incredible shape and top form at the moment
Almost exactly a year ago, a report appeared in the Spanish press claiming that Pedri was no longer 'untouchable' at Barcelona. It still seemed highly unlikely that the midfielder would actually be sold – but the idea that Blaugrana would at least listen to any offers that arrived during the summer transfer window did not feel that far-fetched.
For starters, Barca's financial problems were well-known. At the time, there was also talk of Raphinha being sacrificed to help balance the books. Secondly, and far more significantly, there were mounting concerns over Pedri's persistent injury issues, with the Spain international having just been sidelined with a hamstring problem for the sixth time in less than three years.
There were obviously no doubts over Pedri's prodigious talent, but his inability to stay fit had undeniably become a major cause for concern in Catalunya, and it was heart-breaking for neutrals everywhere to see one of the game's most gifted players forced out of Euro 2024 with a knee injury caused by a crude challenge from Toni Kroos.
However, eight months after his enforced exit from his country's quarter-final win over Germany, Pedri is arguably in better shape – and better form – than at any previous point in his fledgling career…
Getty Images SportImpressing Messi
It's difficult to overstate just how big an impact Pedri made at Barcelona following his arrival in the summer of 2020. The €5 million signing from Las Palmas (one of the greatest buys in Barca's history) was only expected to feature sporadically during his debut season at Camp Nou, but he became a regular starter in a matter of months.
Even Lionel Messi was blown away by the teenager's talent, and there was a lovely moment during a 3-0 win at Real Valladolid when the No.10 made history by becoming the player with the most goals for a single club in football history, but rather than basking in his latest achievement, he instead pointed at Pedri, the provider of an outrageous backheeled assist.
The pair played wonderfully alongside one another that seaso,n and it was even hoped that their fantastic on-field relationship, which seemed to symbolise Barca's past, present and future, might even convince Messi to stay in Catalunya. However, the Argentine left just as Pedri began to break down.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportBurned out by 21?!
Barcelona and Spain ran Pedri into the ground in 2021. He featured in 52 games for his club, and represented his country at the both the European Championship and the Olympics in the same summer. He was still only 18 and, unsurprisingly, his body buckled under the strain of playing so much elite-level football at such a young age.
Pedri missed nearly the entire 2021-22 season because of two separate – but clearly connected – spells on the sidelines with hamstring injuries. It came as no surprise, then, to see him reduced to tears when he was forced off with yet another muscular problem during Barca's clash with Athletic Club on March 5 of last year.
Back then, there was a very real fear that Pedri's development had been irreparably damaged by playing a ridiculous 73 games for Barca and Spain in 2020-21, and that he might never fully recover, much like his team-mate Ansu Fati.
Getty Images SportRoad to recovery
However, Barcelona left no stone unturned in their bid to help Pedri finally get over his physical problems, and the results of genetic analysis of his muscles carried out in the United States suggested that he required daily strength work.
Pedri also benefited enormously from working with Hansi Flick and the German's backroom team. Whereas there was an understandable worry that Pedri might struggle under such a notoriously demanding coach who attaches an enormous amount of importance to intensive pressing, it has actually proved the making of him.
"Physically, I notice that I am doing much better, able to do different things," he told. "We are working much harder at the club than before and I think the physical trainers who have come in are doing us a lot of good. We put in a lot of effort in training and that shows in the game. The team doesn't let up after the 70th or 80th minute, but rather maintains its level of fitness."
Getty Images SportThe Flick factor
All of the hard work is paying off, both for Pedri and for Barcelona. The 22-year-old has missed just one game so far this season, and that was only because of illness.
He remains a relatively slender figure for a modern midfielder, more in the mould of Cesc Fabregas than Yaya Toure, but is proving far more robust than ever before. Only Jules Kounde and Pau Cubarsi have featured in more games for Barca than Pedri this season, while only Raphinha has made more starts. Not since 2020-21 have we seen so much of Pedri on the pitch – and it's fair to say that he's making his presence felt.
Again, though, Flick has been key in that regard. As well as boosting Barca's overall fitness levels, he's also lifted the toxic atmosphere that had descended upon the club during Joan Laporta's reprehensible handling of Xavi's dismissal as coach last season.
"He's really close to the players; someone who likes to talk with us," Pedri said of Flick in an interview with . "Apart from being serious, he also enjoys a joke, he's not always as serious as he appears.
"He helps us young players a lot. He's always on top of what we need and you appreciate that. When things have to be taken seriously, though, he does. He does have that element of a sergeant about him, but he's as good as gold when he speaks with the players."