Barcelona tops Real Oviedo with 3-goal second half (1:14)Barcelona go back to the top of the table as they beat Real Oviedo 3-0. (1:14)
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has invested so much time in Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernández that he could barely believe it when the 18-year-old midfielder told him he was leaving the club.
Flick had taken Dro on Barcelona’s preseason tour last summer, handed him his LaLiga debut in September, and a first UEFA Champions League start in October. However, after experiencing that taste of football at the top level, Dro was left wanting more. And with minutes in the first team hard to come by, the teenager made the surprise decision to seek regular football elsewhere, sending shockwaves through the club.
This week, Dro’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain was confirmed, with sources telling ESPN that the French club even paid slightly more than his €6 million release clause to sign him. That clause meant Barça could do nothing to prevent the move, which hurt even more given the involvement of club’s former player and coach Luis Enrique, who is now PSG manager.
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“If you want to play with Barça, it has to be 100% with your whole heart,” he said. “All the others, I don’t want.”
Flick, usually placid in public, was speaking while the news was still raw; Dro had only communicated to him that week that he would leave. Club sources told ESPN that Flick asked him to think it over. But the next day, Dro reiterated the same stance, explaining the decision was purely based on football reasons, not financial ones.
Flick ordered him to leave the first-team dressing room; between then and sealing his move to PSG, he trained alone. In parallel, Dro’s agent — former Barça midfielder Ivan de la Peña, who is also Luis Enrique’s agent and close friend — communicated the decision to sporting director Deco, who was equally surprised.
Barça had planned to give Dro a new contract. They were waiting for him to turn 18, which he did so after the Spanish Supercopa final win over Real Madrid earlier in January. On the flight back from Saudi Arabia, the club shared a video of teammate Raphinha giving him a cake as the squad sung “Happy Birthday.” That was the last time he was seen in Barça colors.
Sources close to the negotiations said new contract talks never really got off the ground, adding that Barça should carry some blame there because they could have acted quicker, knowing how attainable the €6 million clause was for Europe’s biggest teams. Barça president Joan Laporta rejected that, claiming Sunday that a renewal agreement had been close.
Dro leaves after making five appearances for Barça, although he had not featured since coming off the bench against Atlético Madrid on Dec. 2. Sources close to the player explained he felt his pathway to regular football at Barça was clogged.
Dro had joined Barça from Galician side Val Miñor — where Thiago Alcántara had also played — aged 14 in 2022. Initially known as “Dro” because his brother could not say his name, it stuck given the number of other Pedros he played with down the years. Real Madrid had also been alerted to his talent, but sources involved in his move to Barça said Los Blancos “slept” on getting a deal done.
Another coach who worked with Dro compared him to Brazil legend and Ballon d’Or winner, Kaká. They told ESPN: “Dro’s understanding of the game is way above the average. He always stood out as a different kind of player. I always saw him as being similar to Kaká, even if he played for Real Madrid and AC Milan [not Barça].”
Dro, whose Galician father played amateur football and whose mother is from the Philippines, announced himself with a stunning strike in preseason which soon led to a competitive debut in LaLiga. A first Champions League start followed against Olympiacos, where he created a goal for Fermín to become the second-youngest player to provide an assist in the competition.
Time will tell which group Dro falls into, but PSG are getting one of the most promising youngsters to come through Barça’s academy in the last five years. You only have to look at Flick’s reaction to appreciate how much of a loss the youngster is to the club.
Flick plays a system with two deep-lying central midfielders and a No. 10, which did not suit his best qualities. The same sources said Dro is most comfortable as one of two advanced midfielders in front of a holding midfielder. Even as a No. 10 in Flick’s formation, minutes were not forthcoming, with Fermín López, Dani Olmo and Raphinha among those used ahead of him. Dro was also used out wide, but sources said that 149 minutes of football — and just 88 touches of the ball — did not represent a blind belief in him from the coaching staff.
Sources close to the player told ESPN that, over the course of several conversations with Luis Enrique, Dro was convinced PSG would suit him better at this stage of his career. The reigning European champions weren’t the only club after him: Manchester City, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich had all shown an interest previously. When news leaked that he was leaving, sources said various teams phoned De la Peña to check the situation; clubs that had previously considered a deal impossible were reawakened to the possibility of signing Dro. Sources close to the player insisted the PSG deal was not closed at that point, but it’s now clear talks were already advanced.
Barcelona tops Real Oviedo with 3-goal second half (1:14)Barcelona go back to the top of the table as they beat Real Oviedo 3-0. (1:14)
Barcelona go back to the top of the table as they beat Real Oviedo 3-0. (1:14)
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