Former Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was full of praise for La Blaugrana starlet Pedri when asked about his time in charge in Catalonia.
Koeman was dismissed as Barcelona head coach in October 2021, following a poor run of results, with former Spanish international Xavi eventually replacing him.
However, despite his animosity towards Laporta, Koeman has lots of positives memories from his time at the Camp Nou helm, including giving Pedri his senior debut.
Pedri went on to feature in 37 of Barcelona’s 38 La Liga games in his debut 2020/21 campaign and Koeman believes he could go on to become a generational talent for club and country.
“When I arrived, I didn’t know Pedri, as they signed him from Las Palmas”, as per an interview with Football Daily, via Marca.
🗣 "He's perfect, he's a normal human being."
Ronald Koeman says that Pedri is the most exciting player at Barcelona pic.twitter.com/0NENlnhnnV
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 23, 2022
“The club told me ‘let’s see if he’s good in preseason, if not, let him go on loan’.
“After two training sessions, I told them ‘Pedri is staying and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts in a few weeks’.
“He’s a talent that, at that 18 or 19, was perfect.”
Pedri has been key for Barcelona in La Liga so far in 2021/22, with five starts, and two starts from two games in the Champions League.
