Barcelona midfielder Pedri agrees on new long-term contract with a release clause of €1bn
Pedri, a Barcelona youngster, has agreed to a new long-term contract with the club, which will be announced soon. The new contract will keep the 18-year-old with the Blaugrana until 2026, with a €1 billion release clause.
Pedri rose to popularity last season, thriving in a struggling Barcelona team before going on to star for Spain at Euro 2020 despite his youth. His current contract was set to expire at the end of the 2021/22 season, but Barça made a priority of renewing it, and the small midfielder has signed a new five-year deal with the club.
According to writer Fabrizio Romano, the club and the player have reached an agreement on a contract extension until June 2026, with the different stipulations ‘decided and fixed,’ and an announcement coming soon.
It will cost €1 billion to entice the youngster away from Barça without first negotiating with the club.
Pedri, who is presently sidelined due to a thigh injury, has been a bright spot for Ronald Koeman’s team in an otherwise bleak year. Despite the fact that he will turn 19 in November, the central midfielder has already made 56 appearances for the Blaugrana, scoring four goals and assisting on another six.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that Pedri would suffer a muscular ailment early in the season. The teenager went on to star for his country at both Euro 2020 AND the Olympic Games in Tokyo after making 52 appearances for Barça in all competitions last season.
Barcelona have reached total agreement with Pedri to extend his contract until June 2026, here we go! New deal to be signed in the next hours/days. Final clauses agreed and fixed too. ⭐️🇪🇸 #FCB
EXCL: new release clause for Pedri will be €1B (one billion). 🤝 #Pedri pic.twitter.com/L3EECyDQNg— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 13, 2021
He had made 73 appearances since the start of the 2020/21 season by the end of the Olympics, but he still returned to Barcelona without a pre-season and played in two more La Liga games before being given a two-week break.
Pedri’s accomplishments for club and country have piqued interest, and the 18-year-old has been nominated for the coveted Ballon d’Or award. The Spain international is one of 30 players on the shortlist.
Although former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski are among the favourites for the Ballon d’Or, Pedri has a chance to win when the honours are presented on November 29, 2021, at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris.
Pedri is also one of ten players nominated for the Kopa Trophy in 2021, which is granted to the finest player under the age of 21, and he will fancy his chances of finishing first after such a remarkable debut season.
Pedri is expected to miss several key games.
Pedri may be one of the first names on the Barcelona teamsheet, but due to injury, Ronald Koeman will be missing his midfielder for a few critical games following the international break.
According to Sport, the teenager experienced a return of a thigh problem in Barcelona’s 2-0 La Liga loss to Atletico Madrid last time out and will miss Sunday’s match against Valencia as well as Barcelona’s Champions League meeting against Dynamo Kiev.
Barca’s next match comes on October 24 at the Camp Nou against Real Madrid, but there’s no guarantee Pedri will be fit in time for the much-anticipated Clasico encounter with Los Blancos.
The Catalan giants do not want to take any chances with the youngster and are willing to wait if he relapses. When it comes to Pedri, the club’s “doctors and coaching staff desire the greatest prudence.”
The loss of the Spain international is a setback, but Koeman has plenty of options in the first team, with youngsters Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, and Riqui Puig all vying for greater playing time.