Pedri prepares for his first game as an away player at the Estadio Gran Canaria

There are so many young talents at FC Barcelona who are mesmerising Europe with their performances and most, but not all, came through La Masia. Pedri is the exception, as the 22-year-old midfielder from Tenerife arrived at Barça in 2020 from UD Las Palmas. It might seem strange, but he hasn’t actually had the chance to play at his former stadium since departing the Canary Islands club. Barça have only played UD Las Palmas three times since Pedri joined, and this Saturday’s 21:00 CET kick-off at the Estadio Gran Canaria will be the fourth, but the No.8 couldn’t play in either of last season’s clashes and then participated only in a 2-1 loss at home in Matchday 15, when Los Amarillos visited Montjuïc. 

When he was with the club from Gran Canaria, the midfielder emerged through UD Las Palmas’ academy at a young age and made his official first-team debut against SD Huesca in the summer of 2019. By the time he left the club in 2020, he did so with 37 official appearances for the first team. It was coach Pepe Mel who placed his trust in Pedri, one of several top talents to emerge at the club, with the likes of Alberto Moleiro, Saúl Coco, Álvaro Valles and Sergi Cardona also earning minutes there as youngsters. In Pedri’s case, he made another jump up in level, becoming an important player for FC Barcelona just months after he’d been at LALIGA HYPERMOTION level. It was an incredible 2020/21 season for the Canary Islander, as he won the Copa del Rey, made his debut with the Spanish national team and that summer, at just 18 years, six months and 20 days old, he became the youngest Spanish player to play a European Championship game.

Despite suffering various injury problems over the years since, the midfielder is now a key player for Hansi Flick and seems to have put those physical issues behind him. This season he has played in 23 LALIGA EA SPORTS matches, and is the compass of the team with his intelligence, leadership and impact when on the ball. Pedri hasn’t missed a single league game due to injury this season, regularly playing 90 minutes and standing as the FC Barcelona player with the fourth-most minutes played so far, with 2,793. In the last two games, against Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla FC, he won the MVP award for his excellent performances. As an inexhaustible source of talent and imagination, Pedri keeps Hansi Flick’s side moving forward and makes them a real contender in this title race.

As for Diego Martínez’s UD Las Palmas side, curbing Pedri’s influence could be key to their chances of taking a point or three from this game. They haven’t won so far in 2025, accumulating six defeats and one draw, so the Canary Islanders are at risk of slipping into the relegation zone. When Pedri finally makes his return this weekend, avoiding defeat could be the home side’s priority.