Pedro: Right to leave Barca

Pedro Rodriguez remains adamant he made the right decision in leaving Barcelona for Chelsea last summer, despite a “difficult and very strange” first season.

Pedro’s €30m switch to Chelsea after falling behind ‘MSN’ at Barca was marred by Jose Mourinho’s sacking, a failure to win any silverware and the worst Premier League defence in history as the side finished 10th.

 “[On last season], I had never experienced such a situation, being at a great team and seeing them fall apart at Christmas, when they were champions the season before. You look down [the table] and see a great Coach sacked… It was difficult, very strange,” the Spain forward told Marca.

“[On accusations of the Chelsea players getting Mourinho sacked], that wasn’t the case. We went out, always looking to win. We never went out to lose or betrayed the Coach. It was difficult, we were on a losing streak and the club opted to take this measure.

“My direction at Barca became complicated because I had little chance [of playing] and I wanted to get out and play. In that sense, I wasn’t wrong.

“I had another idea about my move would go, but football is like that. Now, I have more desire and ambition to get Chelsea back to where they deserve.

“I think I will stay [at Chelsea] and hopefully I can fulfil my contract. I’m very happy at Chelsea.

“[On Pep Guardiola], it’s a difficult and complicated League. It’ll be difficult for him to adopt his usual game, although we know that he’s a great Coach. It won’t be easy.

“[On if Pep can revolutionise English football], I think so. He’s true to his idea [of football] and can he convince his players to change their philosophy. We’ll see how he does in his first year.

“[Mourinho will give Manchester United] a lot of intensity. They’ll be a very strong and consistent team. He has a lot of character and very clear ideas.

“[On Antonio Conte], he’s a Coach who works hard on a tactical level and asks a lot of his players on the pitch. He’ll come in handy.”

Tags Chelsea Pedro Rodriguez
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