How Pedri shrugged off injury woes at Barcelona and became one of the best players in the world - ‘A complete midfielder'

Can you have a second career at the age of 22? It might seem a strange question to ask, but as we reach the tail end of Pedri’s fifth season with Barcelona, it feels as if the young midfielder has already redefined what kind of player he is and perhaps raised what was already an immense ceiling when it comes to his potential.

Pedri’s relationship with Barcelona dates back to his youth when, as a kid, he would watch the club on TV at supporters clubs in Tenerife, that love instilled in him by his father as he watched the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta (feel old yet?).

In an interview with UEFA conducted ahead of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Pedri mentioned those two legendary midfielders as reference points for him, and you can see so much of them in him. It is the way he seems to have more time than anybody else on the pitch put together. It is the way he sometimes plays passes before others have even thought a pass might be on. It is the way you watch him effortlessly glide past players and wonder if you are watching ballet rather than football.

But, as was raised upon his signing way back when, can a player like that survive in modern football? A football that is more physical and athletic than ever and demands so much from its participants. At certain points in Pedri’s career, there was a worry it might be too much for him at 5"9' and just 60kg.

He played in all but one La Liga game in his first season in Catalonia. After that, he played in 12, 26 and 24 games over his next three seasons, respectively. A troublesome hamstring issue that kept coming back, just when he and the club thought he was in the clear, was the primary culprit. Per Transfermarkt’s injury data, Pedri lost a little under a full calendar year to his hamstrings, with a further 89 days lost to muscle injuries and finally a knee issue that ruled him out of UEFA Euro 2024.

So when new manager Hansi Flick came in last summer, it was fair to wonder – can he count on Pedri? Can he build around Pedri? The answer to both of those questions, has been a resounding yes. Pedri has played in all but one league game this season and in every game in the Champions League. Flick was able to build around Pedri and having done so, he has watched the young midfielder take his game to a new level.

So what is the reason for this massive uptick in availability? Guillermo Marcos from Eurosport Spain explains the lengths that Pedri went to in order to get on top of his body.

"Physically, he's already overachieved what he did in 2020/2021 in terms of the number of matches he played with Barcelona," said Marcos.

"His preparation under Hansi Flick is largely the reason for this. He underwent a genetic study of his muscles in the summer and was given a personalised training plan to minimise injuries. So far, he's been doing very well.

"He's even said that playing is better for him than resting to maintain physical consistency. Julio Tous [fitness coach] and Raul Martinez [recovery coach], who arrived in recent months and have extensive experience in Europe, also deserve an immense amount of credit for helping Pedri."

Obviously, it is a good thing to have Pedri on the pitch. That is not a hot take. Per Opta, the 22-year-old ranks second among La Liga central midfielders for successful passes and big chances created. Per FBRef, only three players - Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Raphinha - have more shot-creating actions. Only Pau Cubarsi has touched the ball more than Pedri in La Liga this season and only Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso have covered more ground.

But this year feels different, and this brings us back to the original hypothesis: Can you have a second career at 22? Pedri has been playing at a truly elite level this season that we have not seen from him before, and he is doing so in a different way. Having previously been an advanced 8 or even a 10, Pedri has spent most of this season playing as a deeper midfielder in Flick’s 4-2-3-1 formation. It shows in the stats.

Per FBRef this season, Pedri has won 30 tackles in La Liga and a further 23 in Europe. Domestically, he has never managed 30 tackles won for Barcelona before and in Europe he has never even reached double-digits. Pretty much every defensive stat you want to pick across the board is up compared to previous seasons, a sign of the fact that he is playing deeper, yes, but also of the added responsibility he has taken upon himself in that area of the game.

"The feeling in Barcelona this season is that we're seeing the best Pedri has ever been," Marcos says. "Better than his debut year under Koeman. He's playing closer to the middle of the pitch and further away from goal, but the entire game revolves around him.

"He's the team's temperature gauge, decisive in breaking pressing lines, threading passes to the forwards, and being one of the best ball-winners in La Liga. A complete midfielder."

Over the years, this author has speculated about what kind of midfield monster you might create if you fused Pedri and Gavi together. Might you create the best midfielder we have ever seen whilst also being – relative to some of the historic giants who have run midfields down the years – considerably undersized?

Well, perhaps Pedri has answered those questions without the need for Frankenstein-esque genetic experimentation. The defensive additions to his game have been nothing short of remarkable and, in an era where we keep talking about how physical the game is, he stands out as a truly special player. Pedri shows us that you do not need to be a physical unit to dominate in midfield. If you understand what you are doing and have the right spirit, anything is possible. Pedri is not just Barcelona’s most important player, he is one of the best players in the world.