Pedri calls on Real Madrid star to join him at Barca

FT Desk

• 25 Nov 2022 14:14 GMT
• 3 min read

Javier Saviola was the last big player to cross the Clasico divide directly in 2007, but that could be about to change if Barcelona starlet Pedri gets his way…

Pedri, 19, is currently on World Cup duty with Spain, whom he helped to a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica in their opening Group E game on Wednesday.

The Barca youngster may not have got on the scoresheet, but Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio - playing out of position as a striker - did, and Pedri would be delighted if the pair were teammates at club as well as international level.

READ: Asensio piles pressure on Real Madrid as Spain smash Costa Rica

Asensio's contract at the Santiago Bernabeu expires at the end of the current campaign, and Barca, alongside Premier League pair Arsenal and Liverpool, are among the clubs to have been linked with a move for the talented 26-year-old.

Pedri: 'All the best players belong at Barca!"

"You have to see what happens with Marco's contract, but I think all the best players have to play for Barcelona," he told Spanish TV programme El Partidazo de COPE. "But I'm not much for doing those things, convincing someone."

Pedri may be shy to get in Asensio's ear while the pair plot what would be a second World Cup triumph following the country's success at the 2010 edition in South Africa, but Barca would be getting a serious player if they could acquire Asensio.

READ: Pedri was willing to sign for Real Madrid before Barcelona

Used as a bit-part player under Carlo Ancelotti this season, Asensio bagged 10 goals as Real Madrid won La Liga last term - an impressive return given he lined up on the right-wing in a 4-3-3 most of the time.

Asensio has two goals ana two assists in 20 career meetings with Barcelona, and the chance to acquire a rival player rated at €24 million by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm for free, could prove too good for Barca to turn down.