Real Madrid News
Cold weather crashed Pedri’s potential move to Real Madrid in 2018 – report
A recent report from Diario AS has offered an interesting insight into the stages of Pedri’s career, where he was close to joining Real Madrid.
At the age of just 15, Pedri was playing for Juventud Laguna de Tenerife. He was already represented by an agency at the time. In 2018, under the recommendation of former Real Madrid midfielder Omar Mascarell, Hector Peris, the founder of Pedri’s agency, contacted Alfredo Merino, who was the talent spotter for Real Madrid.
There was not much of a response from the Valdebebas at the time. But upon persisting, Peris was able to show Pedri’s videos to Merino, who went on to invite Pedri to pass a test in the Real Madrid sports complex, even though the player was not favoured much by the Whites.
With UD Las Palmas also on the lookout, Pedri’s visit had to be made imminent. He travelled to the Madrid sports complex in February 2018. Accompanied by his father, the youngster had to reside at the Valdebebas facility for youth players.
However, that is when fate sided with FC Barcelona. On the first day, the training was suspended by the accumulation of snow on the pitch. A huge snowfall had hit the capital a few days prior to Pedri’s arrival.
On the second day, Pedri was slated to feature in Cadet A, who was supposed to play a friendly. However, he could not participate due to licensing issues. He had to settle for a session with Cadet B, with the capital still freezing in the aftermath of the snowfall.
On the third day of training, Pedri was not able to make an impression in the midst of freezing cold temperatures. It must be noted that the youngster had hailed from the Canary region, which is known for hot summers.
Consequently, after three difficult days, Pedri was sent back by Real Madrid with a ‘thank you for coming and goodbye’ note. Alfredo Merino, at the time, tried his best to convince his bosses to take another look at the midfielder at a later time.
But with him being the only admirer of Pedri within the Real Madrid camp, Pedri returned to Tenerife before eventually sealing his homecoming by joining Las Palmas in May.
A year later, he would join FC Barcelona on a €17 million deal that has turned out to be an excellent piece of business for the Catalans, as Pedri has since established himself as one of the best young players in world football.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder trained away from the group last week, but has no injury – report
With the international break underway, several Real Madrid players have been called up for national team assignments. The stars who have not travelled for international duty have continued to work at the club’s Valdebebas training facility to prepare for the restart.
Toni Kroos is one such player who has remained in Madrid, having retired from international football back in 2021.
However, there had been concerns growing around the 33-year-old’s physical condition as he regularly did indoor work last week and was not spotted in group training with his teammates.
Now, Sergio Quirante has come up with an update on Kroos’ situation, stating that even though the midfielder largely did individual work inside the facilities over the last week, he is fine and has no injuries.
Taking advantage of the international break, the former Bayern Munich superstar is understood to have gone through an individual program to prepare for the final, decisive stretch of the 2022/23 season.
Kroos not being injured comes as a big positive for Real Madrid, ahead of important games against Real Valladolid and Barcelona within the first five days of April.
The rest of the Real Madrid midfield contingent – Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and Dani Ceballos – are all away on international duties and could return with some fatigue from the travel.
So, it is important that Kroos is fully fit and ready to go as Real Madrid look to cut down the gap to the top of the table in La Liga and also make it to the finals of the Copa del Rey by overturning a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Kroos has played 37 matches this season, chipping in with two goals and five assists in the process. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is still unclear whether he will renew or hang up his boots.
