Barcelona legend Pedro has retired, and despite having left the Catalan giants more than a decade ago, a special event to honor his career took place at the club’s Auditori 1899, a part of the Camp Nou sports complex.
The video played at the event started and ended with shots of the Camp Nou.
“Thank you, football, for making me so happy,” was Pedro’s parting message.
Pedro scored 204 goals and won 25 titles as a player, including the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and the FIFA World Cup with Spain.
“The time had come to rest. I felt less driven, unmotivated. I’m a competitive person, and I no longer saw myself in that situation. I had sacrificed a lot, and it was time to start a new chapter with family and friends,” he said at the event.
Born in Tenerife, Pedro joined Barcelona’s academy, La Masia, as a teenager. He progressed through the ranks quickly and was given his debut in 2008. He was a part of Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona team which won the Champions League twice, widely considered one of the best club teams ever.
“Guardiola was always the one who corrected me the most. Sometimes he would tell me, ‘You played terribly,‘ even when I had scored two goals. But it was to correct me and help me grow. I learned a great deal from him professionally—understanding the game and knowing how to position myself,” Pedro said.
He scored a goal in the 2011 Champions League final, and then won it again as a substitute in 2015 under Luis Enrique.
He named that final goal as his most memorable. “I’ll go with the goal in the Champions League final. I started, opened the scoring—a masterclass pass from Xavi,” he said.
For the national team, he started and won the 2010 World Cup final and won the UEFA European Championship in 2012.
“You have dreams, but then things get complicated. I’ve been lucky enough to live the dream every child desires; what I’ve experienced was unimaginable,” he said.
Apart from the Champions League, Pedro also won La Liga five times with Barcelona in addition to 12 other titles with the Catalans. He later won the Premier League and FA Cup with Chelsea and played for AS Roma and Lazio in Italy.
