Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri has responded to talk he is tired after playing a quite remarkable 70 games in 11 months.
Plenty of fans expressed concerned for the 18-year-old after pictures showed him looking mentally and physically exhausted after a period of non-stop football.
He looks so tired #Pedri pic.twitter.com/Yqo5xKlx9d
— Cules Indo (@culesindo29) July 23, 2021
Pedri looks very tired even before kick off pic.twitter.com/mfVejhNuZS
— Buzi Brown (@buzibrownie) July 22, 2021
In all competitions during 2020/21 Pedri played 52 times for Barcelona, 40 of which were starts.
He then went straight into Euro 2020, where he played in all six of Spain’s games and missed just one minute of action – against Switzerland when he was substituted ahead of penalties.
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| Image: PA |
But after Spain lost to Italy in the semi-final, Pedri has continued representing La Roja this summer.
He and the likes of Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Pau Torres, Unai Simon and Mikel Oyarzábal have all been playing at the Tokyo Olympics.
The former Las Palmas prospect is more than deserving of some relaxation time but the player himself is not feeling fatigued at the moment.
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| Image: PA |
“I’m not tired,” he told Catalunya Radio.
“I always try to rest, it’s not hard for me to get some sleep and that helps me a lot.”
Pedri: “I’m not tired, I always try to rest, it’s not hard for me to get some sleep & that helps me a lot.” pic.twitter.com/1VexBPIRIF
— Barca Galaxy (@barcagalaxy) July 28, 2021
Pedri only had nine days between Spain’s Euro 2020 semi-final with Italy and the team’s first Olympics warm-up fixture.
He played 90 minutes in both of Spain’s first two group games, before lasting 73 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Argentina on Wednesday – his 68th outing of the season.
Spain play Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals and could still be in Tokyo by 7 August if they go all the way to the final.
Barcelona’s La Liga campaign gets under way just a week later and though he’s due a holiday, the Euro 2020 Young Player of the Tournament is happy to go with the flow.
“I’m trying to enjoy and my legs are good enough,” he added.
“Holidays? I’ll do what Barça tells me.”
Pedri is ready for whatever comes his way 💪 pic.twitter.com/McXxTRDXl0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 28, 2021
Fast-tracked into first-team football after signing for Barca, Pedri is already a key player for club and country. Here’s hoping he doesn’t run out of stream and burn himself out early on.