Iniesta Archives - True Barca Fans

Regarded as one of the promising talents of this generation, Pedro Gonzalez Lopez simply known as Pedri is a professional football player who plays as a central midfielder for the Spanish national team and Football Club Barcelona. EARLY LIFE Pedri was born to to his Spanish parents in Tegueste, Spain. Interestingly the small village is not a mainland in Spain. As a matter of fact, Tegueste is located on the island of Tenerife at the outskirt of Spain and share boundaries with some African nations. It is however believed that at least one of Pedri's parents has an African ancestry. Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria have all been traced as a possible home country of the youngster's ancestors. Pedri was born into a football loving middle class family who were true fans of FC Barcelona. At a very young age, Pedri and his brother were Barcelona obsessed and wore matching Barcelona jerseys. He once said " before I was born I was already a Barcelona fan" His grandfather founded and created the local football club in Tegueste where Pedri started his football journey. Pedri was average in school according to his teachers but when the bell rang and it was play time, no one comes close to Pedri in the field of play. FAMILY Pedri is one of two boys in the family. However the name of his brother isn't available to the public at this moment. His family were middle class but Pedri didn't have much difficulty growing up, his father and grandfather pushed him harder by supporting his career. Pedri's father, Fernando Gonzalez would show him videos of legendary Midfielder Michael Laudrup while feeding him dinner from plates bearing the barcelona badge. It was clear, Pedri has an idol - Andres Iniesta. At some point he wanted to have the same haircut as Iniesta but his father refused because Iniesta was bald. Pedri's father Fernando was a goalkeeper back in the day, he wasn't as good as his son and had to take over the family business when his father fell ill. Pedri's mother, Maria Rosario joined him in the business. PERSONAL INFORMATION NAME PEDRO GONZALEZ LOPEZDATE OF BIRTH 25th NOVEMBER 2002PLACE OF BIRTH TEGUESTE, SPAIN AGE19 YEARS 61 DAYS OLDHEIGHT 5FT 9"CURRENT CLUBFC BARCELONA POSITIONCENTRAL MIDFIELDER JERSEY NUMBER16FATHER'S NAME FERNANDO GONZALEZ MOTHER'S NAME MARIA ROSARIO GONZALEZ CLUB CAREER Even though he's currently dictating the play for the FC Barcelona team, the Pedri story started a long way from camp nou. He's playing style is la masia level and a typical Barcelona DNA type. He's a typical central midfielder even though he's also able to play on the wings just like his idol Andres Iniesta. He loves to roam the pitch, occupy spaces in the middle and operate in between the lines. His versatility is top notch too. Pedri is intelligent, has great visions, excellent technical skill, his work rate without the ball is excellent for someone his size and age. Versatility, awareness, ability to exploit little spaces, dribbling and so much more is exactly what makes Pedri special. This qualities were vivid at a very young age when he played for the local club in Tegueste. HOW PEDRI STARTED CF Juventud Laguna was were Pedri started out as a young kid. Joining them in 2014, he spent three years there and was head and shoulders above the rest. He wore the famous No 8 Jersey just like his hero and role model Iniesta. Juventud coach Ayoze Hernandez coached Pedri for the final year before he joined Las Palmas in 2018, and even at the age of 14, his style was already set, he had the following to say about the youngster : Pedri loved the ball,” Ayoze said. “He adored having it all the time, before training, after training, during training. He always played in the middle. Pedri dominated matches and opponents were confused how a little kid could be so good. These performances earned him a trial in Madrid who told him he wasn't good enough. Pedri said recently in an interview : “They told me I wasn't at the right level,” Pedri told radio show El Larguero of the experience. “I thank those who told me that I wouldn't make it; now I’m at the club I have always loved. Putting on a Madrid shirt was strange, I’ve always been Barca.” After the trial failed he moved to Las Palmas and was promoted to the first team in 2019. He made his debut in August 2019 and then scored his first professional goal in September, becoming the youngest scorer in the history of Las Palmas. Madrid appeared again but they're weren't serious as usual and then Barcelona struck. On 2nd September 2019, Barcelona and Las Palmas reached an agreement for the transfer of Pedri that would take place in July 2020. A two year deal was signed for €5 million which could increase further as certain clause is being met. PEDRI AT BARCELONA Pedri's story at Barcelona with then manager Ronald Koeman was a story of love at first sight. Right from the very first training session, the coach loved Pedri and he would go on to become an integral part of the team. He made his Barcelona debut on 27th of September 2020 against Villareal and got his first goal on 20th October in the UEFA Champions League. On 7th November he got his first league goal for Barcelona. Pedri would go on to make over 50 appearances for the Blaugrana that season. October 2021, Pedri extended his contract with Barcelona and a whooping €1 billion buyout clause was placed on him to ward of interests. INTERNATIONAL CAREER Pedri didn't appear much for the youth team, he made his U-21 debut for the National team on 3rd September 2020 against Macedonia. Pedri would later be called directly to the first team by coach Luis Enrique in March 2021. It was at EURO 2020 which was played in 2021 that Pedri flourished with the national team. The youngster was consistent all through the tournament and the main driving force in midfield. He broke and created records as Spain made their way to the semi finals becoming the youngest player of the tournament and being named in the team of the season. He played all but one minutes of the entire EUROS and was immediately called up to the U-23 side to feature in the Olympics. PEDRI AT THE OLYMPICS Pedri would go on to make his Olympics debut on 22 July 2021 and led Spain to the finals where they lost 2-1 to Brazil. After that game Pedri had played 73 games in that calendar year. TROPHIES Pedri has won quite a few trophy. He's won the Copa Del Rey with Barcelona in 2020 and the silver medal at the olympics. AWARDS Pedri has won quite some interesting individual awards. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BREAKTHROUGH XI2020EURO YOUNG PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT2020EURO TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT2020GOLDEN BOY2021KOPA TROPHY2021IFFHS WORLD BEST YOUTH U-20 PLAYER2021TROFEO ALDO ROVIRA2020/2021 NET WORTH AND SALARY After signing his last Barcelona contract, Pedri is said to be earning around €5 million yearly and is currently worth around €6 million. WIFE AND KIDS Pedri is single and has no wife or kids.