Barcelona midfielder Pedri Gonzalez revealed how he nearly joined Real Madrid after trials.
Pedri, a stalwart of Barcelona’s midfield, revealed in an interview with ICON magazine (via Mundo Deportivo) that he would have signed for Real Madrid if the club had accepted him following trials.
In order to join Real Madrid’s Cadete A team, Pedri underwent a trial before deciding to sign with Barcelona in 2019 from Las Palmas. After the February 2018 trials, Los Blancos made the decision not to sign the 19-year-old.
After joining Barça a year later, Pedri spent the 2019–20 season on loan at Las Palmas before making his permanent home at Camp Nou in 2020.
Pedri has consistently insisted that Barcelona is his ideal team and that Andres Iniesta was his childhood hero. However, the young man admitted in the interview that if Real Madrid had accepted him following the trials, he would have signed with the team.
“I believe so. It would have been very difficult for me to decline the offer from one of the greatest players in the history of this sport, but my goal was to make it as a professional football player, Pedri said.
However, Los Blancos did not make an offer, and Pedri acknowledges that this was fortunate for him because it allowed him to join his “dream club.”
“That train left the station, and two years later I signed a contract with the team of my dreams. I’ve always said it, but I’ve been a fan of FC Barcelona since I was a young child.
Since joining Barcelona, Pedri has advanced to become one of the top young midfielders in Europe and is a mainstay in both the club and national starting lineups.
Real Madrid may have some second thoughts about not signing him, but the Merengues are developing their own top midfield group with players like Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni, and they intend to add Jude Bellingham in 2023.
