There's so much going on at Barcelona at any given time that we can barely keep track of everything occurring. The club are continuing to churn out starlet after starlet from their La Masia youth academy, not least 17-year-old Lamine Yamal who's already sweeping up trophies and earning comparisons to Lionel Messi. On the other flank, Raphinha is beyond the end point of a regular redemption arc and appears more like Christ reincarnated as a typically tricky Brazilian winger. Up front, Robert Lewandowski is going about the same business as has been usual for the last decade that seemingly nobody has clocked he turns 37 in a few months. Even off the pitch, there's always some sort of nonsense brewing with the club's outspoken board and their failed plans to return to Camp Nou.
Beyond all of that, we have Pedri. For much of the 2024-25 season, his influence has been far more understated and under-the-radar than of those in Blaugrana halves playing higher up the pitch. But after his excursions in Saturday's Copa del Rey final triumph over Clasico rivals Real Madrid, it's hard to overlook him.
An ill-tempered, five-goal thriller at La Cartuja swung the way of Barca, and it was their midfield magician who got the ball rolling, slamming home from 20 yards with one hell of a wicked strike. It was ironic this magnificent goal itself was overshadowed by essentially every single other event that evening, though at least there finally appears to be some momentum behind movement to earn Pedri even more notable accolades, including this year's up-for-grabs Ballon d'Or.
