Rivaldo advised his former club Barcelona not to build upon the recent hype around 18-year-old Pedri.
Barcelona wonderkid Pedro Gonzalez, better known as Pedri, has made headlines all over the world of football with his latest performances. The 18-year-old is proving himself to be Messi’s best playmaking partner in recent years. In fact, the youngster has been compared to Iniesta and dubbed as the Blaugrana’s savior this season. Pedri has made 22 appearances for the Catalan club, scoring three goals and recently providing Messi with one assist.
However, Barcelona legend Rivaldo has expressed his concerns about overhyping the young player.
“Pedri is only 18 years old and it would be rash to start putting too much pressure on him, even though the squad has more experienced players to take on the responsibility and should step forward.”
According to Rivaldo, Pedri has already shown he is a great talent. In fact, he will most likely be one of Barcelona’s best players in the future. Nevertheless, it is important that the young midfielder keeps his head down and continues his hard work.
“He simply needs to continue his good work, developing and learning to become one of the great players at the club in the near future. His great qualities are undeniable and there are already rumors that he might be part of Spain’s squad at Euro 2021, which only confirms he has great ability.
But he is very young, and Barcelona should be careful to not put the spotlight on him too soon. He needs to continue improving his game and then perform on the bigger stages other than La Liga, such as the Champions League.”
Messi’s future will affect Pedri’s role at the club.
As 2021 arrived, Lionel Messi became free to accept offers from other clubs. The Argentine is less than six months away from the end of his contract. Should Messi leave, Rivaldo believes Pedri will be expected to take on a bigger role at Barcelona.
“It may well be Messi’s last season at the club, so he could have more chances to take responsibilities next season, but for now I would suggest that he just needs to continue his normal process and play his football every time he is called upon by Ronald Koeman.”
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