Barcelona have confirmed that Pedri will take over the club’s number eight shirt after it was vacated by veteran star Dani Alves.
The jersey was made famous at Camp Nou in recent times by Barca legend Andres Iniesta, while it was worn in the past by the likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Bernd Schuster and Sandor Kocsis.
Iniesta inherited the number eight from Ludovic Giuly in 2007 and wore it with distinction for the next 11 years until he left Camp Nou to head to Japan in 2018. It was in the shirt that the Spaniard won three of his four Champions League titles – in 2009, 2011 and 2015.
Pedri has occupied Barca’s number 16 shirt since his arrival from Las Palmas in 2020, quickly becoming one of the club’s most important players despite being only 16 at the time.
The teenage midfielder made more appearances than anyone in a Barcelona shirt during the 2020/21 campaign and then went on to play for Spain at both Euro 2020 and the 2020 Olympics, both of which were postponed until 2021.
Pedri’s second year at Camp Nou was hampered by persistent injuries, limiting him to only 22 appearances in all competitions and just 11 in La Liga.
Pedri signed a new long-term contract with Barca last autumn until 2026. That deal also saw his buyout clause increased to €1bn, matching that of fellow young star Ansu Fati.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Pedri changes Barcelona shirt number to take iconic jersey.
Source: www.90min.com
