Pedri Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 9 in |
Weight | 60 kg |
Date of Birth | November 25, 2002 |
Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
Eye Color | Light Brown |
Pedri is a Spanish professional soccer player who has represented, as a central midfielder, UD Las Palmas (2019-2020) and FC Barcelona (2020-Present) in Spain. With FC Barcelona, he won the Copa del Rey (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in Spain) in the 2020-21 season. It was the club’s record-extending 31st such title. With the club, Pedri also won the Supercopa de España in the 2022-23 season. It was the club’s record-extending 14th such title. The Supercopa de España (founded in 1982 as a 2-team competition) has been contested since the 2019-20 season by 4 teams – the winners and runners-up of La Liga (the top tier of the Spanish soccer league system) and the Copa del Rey. At the international level, Pedri represented Spain at the under-17, under-18, under-19, under-21, and under-23 tiers before making his senior national debut in March 2021.
Born Name
Pedro González López
Nick Name
Pedri, Pedri Potter, Mr. Banana
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Bajamar, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Residence
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Nationality
Occupation
Professional Soccer Player
Family
- Father – Fernando González
- Mother – Maria Rosario López
- Siblings – Fernando González López (Older Brother)
Manager
He has been represented by Leaderbrock Sports, Talent Management and Sports Marketing Agency, Valencia, Spain.
Shirt Number
- 26, 20, 16, 21 – Spain
- 28 – UD Las Palmas
- 16, 8 – FC Barcelona
Playing Position
Central Midfielder
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 9 in or 175 cm
Weight
60 kg or 132 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
Hispanic
He is of Spanish descent.
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Light Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Toned physique
- Short-cropped, side-parted hair
- Affable smile
- Often sports a light stubble
Brand Endorsements
He has been sponsored by Adidas AG, a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing, and accessories.
Pedri Facts
- Born in Bajamar, Canary Islands, Spain, Pedri, and his family moved to Tegueste, a nearby town, when he was about 3 years old. He started his youth career with a local club called Unión Deportiva Tegueste. In 2015, he joined the youth team of a club called CF Juventud Laguna.
- Although his full name is Pedro González López, he is professionally known as ‘Pedri’. He got this nickname because there was another boy named Pedro in his class in school and there was a need to differentiate between the two. He began to be called ‘Pedri’ because of his slender figure at that time.
- In 2018, he joined the youth academy of UD Las Palmas, a professional soccer team based in Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canaria in the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands. In July 2019, aged just 16, Pedri signed a professional 4-year contract with the club and was promoted to the club’s senior first team.
- He scored his first senior-level professional goal in September 2019. This made him the then-youngest goalscorer in the history of UD Las Palmas – he was 16 years, 9 months, and 23 days old at that time.
- For his performances in the 2020-21 season, he won the ‘Trofeo Aldo Rovira’. It is presented by FC Barcelona to its best player of the season and is decided by a jury composed of the club’s board of directors and members of the Catalan media. The award was created in 2010 and was presented to male players. 2021 was the first year that the trophy began to be presented to both male and female players.
- In June 2021, Pedri became the then-youngest player to have represented Spain at the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) European Championship aka the UEFA Euro (a quadrennial continental international championship) when he started in Spain’s opening group stage match of the 2020 edition (played in June-July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) of the tournament – a goalless draw against Sweden. He was 18 years, 6 months, and 18 days, old at that time.
- He later became the youngest player (at that time) to have played in a knock-out game of the UEFA Euro when he started in Spain’s pre-quarter-final match against Croatia. Pedri scored an own goal in that match but Spain eventually won by a 5-3 margin in extra-time. Other than this blemish, he played a key role in Spain’s run to the semi-final of this tournament.
- He played all but one minute of Spain’s 6 matches in the tournament and completed 65 of the 66 passes he attempted in the semi-final defeat to eventual (and 2nd-time) champions Italy – a 4-2 penalty shootout loss following a 1-1 draw at the end of extra-time. For his performances, Pedri was named the ‘Young Player of the Tournament’ and was the only Spanish player included in the ‘Team of the Tournament’.
- At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in July-August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), he won the ‘Silver’ medal. His inclusion in the Spanish squad did not go down well with his club (FC Barcelona)’s manager who heavily criticized the decision of calling up Pedri for 2 international tournaments (the 2020 UEFA Euro and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) in the same summer. The final of this tournament – Spain’s 2-1 defeat to Brazil in extra-time – was his 73rd game of the season across all competitions.
- In mid-October 2021, Pedri signed a new contract with FC Barcelona which contained a record release clause – €1 billion ($1.57 billion).
- In November 2021, he won the Golden Boy award, an annual honor that has been presented since 2003 by sports journalists to a young soccer player (under the age of 21), playing in a European nation’s top-tier league, perceived to have been the most impressive during a calendar year (two halves of two separate seasons). He was the 3rd Spanish player to have won this award after Cesc FÃ bregas (2006) and Isco (2012). This tied Spain with France as the country with the most such awards – 3 apiece.
- Just a few days later, Pedri also won the Kopa Trophy, an annual award that has been presented since 2018 by France Football (a renowned French weekly soccer magazine) to the best-performing player in the world under the age of 21. The award is named after legendary French soccer player Raymond Kopa, who passed away in March 2017. It is open to those who play outside of Europe as well and the winner is selected by former Ballon d’Or (an annual award presented by France Football since 1956) winners. Pedri was the 1st Spanish player to have won the Kopa Trophy.
- He was also named the ‘IFFHS World’s Best Youth (Under-20) Player’ for his performances in 2021. The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) is an organization that chronicles soccer history and records.
- In both 2021 and 2022, Pedri was included in the ‘IFFHS Men’s World Youth (Under-20) Team’ as well as the ‘IFFHS Men’s Youth (Under-20) UEFA Team’.
- In February 2022, he scored the then-fastest Derbi Barcelonà goal (75 seconds) of the 21st century. The Derbi Barcelonà is the term given to any soccer match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol – both clubs are based in the Barcelona metropolitan area of Spain.
- For his performances in the 2021-22 season, Pedri was included in the ‘La Liga Team of the Season’.
- In November and December 2022, he started in all 4 of Spain’s matches at the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup – 3 group-stage matches and the shock pre-quarter-final defeat (on penalties) to Morocco who eventually finished in 4th place, the best FIFA World Cup finish by any African or Arab nation.
Featured Image by Pedri / Instagram