Barca starlet Pedri open to joining MLS in the future
Barcelona starlet Pedri has proclaimed that he would consider a switch to Major League Soccer in the future. The 20-year-old midfielder remarked on being asked directly if he would ever want to play Stateside. Former Barca teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba have all recently joined MLS side Inter Miami this summer.
Pedri would be most valuable player in MLS right now
Barca previously paid around $19 million for the then-teenager in 2019. He is now one of the most valuable players in his position in the world. MLS has been able to attract aging soccer stars in the past and present. However, the league has had a tough time securing top younger players.
Pedri is currently valued at around $110 million by Transfermarkt. This would easily be the highest value of any player in MLS by quite some margin. For instance, Messi became the North American league’s highest-valued player when he arrived earlier in July. The World Cup winner currently has an (on-field) value of $38 million by the aforementioned website. Nevertheless, Pedri is currently under contract with the Spanish giants until the summer of 2026.
Midfielder looking to collect more silverware with Barca
Along with discussing a potential move to MLS, Pedri also talked about the pressure of playing at Barca. The youngster proclaimed that last season’s title-winning campaign was no fluke, and the club is out to win more trophies during the 2023/24 season.
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“I think every year there is pressure at Barca to win all the titles, but now more so,” stated Pedri. “We want to show that last year wasn’t a coincidence, that we’re going after it with everything we’ve got, and why not bring the other trophies home?”
“Champions League is one of the principal things that we’re going after with everything we’ve got. We have two years where it hasn’t gone our way, but we want to change that dynamic to turn that around.”
Barca will continue its preseason preparations with a matchup against Arsenal in California on Wednesday. The Catalan club previously cancelled a friendly with Juventus, but the game with the Gunners is scheduled to occur.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Pressinphoto