Chelsea forward Pedro Rodriguez is anticipating ‘a special game’ as he lines up against former club Barcelona for the first time.
Pedro scored 99 goals in 320 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona from 2008 to 2015, winning 20 major honours including five La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League three times.
“This will be a special game for me, I played for so many years in this team, and I have so many friends there, and a lot of good memories, of my time at that club,” Pedro told an interview with The Independent.
“It was an incredible time with a special team. They're one of the biggest teams in the world. It's easier to win titles there, probably, than over here because they have very good players like Leo Messi and others, the best players in the world.
“For this reason, I'm very happy to have played my part and to have won those titles with them.
“It's unbelievable. They're such good players. Leo Messi is the best player in the world for me, but look at the others: Andres [Iniesta], Xavi and all the others, [Thierry] Henry, Ronaldinho, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Samuel] Eto'o… so many of them.
“Then there are the likes of [Carlos] Puyol, [Eric] Abidal… the list goes on. I was lucky enough to play with them all, such good players, and stayed more years with them.
“I learned so much from them as teammates. It was a great honour for me to be there with them, and such a big part of my development as a player from a young age, playing with this type of player.”
