Barcelona and Pedri have reached an agreement on a new contract, Fabrizio Romano reported on Wednesday afternoon. According to the transfer market expert, the midfielder’s new contract will be officially announced within ‘a few hours/days’. His current contract expires next year, but Pedri will sign up until mid-2026. Last week, general manager Ferran Reverter confirmed that he was already ‘well on the way’ in talks with the eighteen-year-old playmaker.
The usually well-informed Romano assures that Pedri will receive a new contractual lump sum of no less than one billion euros. His current transfer fee is 400 million euros. Sport claims Wednesday, however, that the lump sum of the top talent remains unchanged, while Goal mentions an amount of ‘more than 600 million euros’. In the Spanish press, the transfer fee is now called an ‘anti-sheik clause’, which is intended to deter even the extremely wealthy owners of clubs such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Sport claims Pedri’s contract will also include an option to stay at Barcelona for another year, ie until mid-2027. In addition, the youngster could face a “significant salary increase” despite the club’s major financial difficulties. “That increase is possible because Pedri had one of the lowest salaries, because he has not yet signed a new contract after his arrival from Las Palmas,” it sounds. Pedri came over from Las Palmas in the summer of 2020 for five million euros. The sports newspaper expects white smoke from the Camp Nou on Thursday on Friday about his new contract.
According to the newspaper, it was ‘high time’ for the new contract and the accompanying salary increase, because Pedri has become a fixed value in Ronald Koeman’s team. He played 37 of Barcelona’s 38 league games last season and also appeared in the Copa del Rey (six times), Supercopa (two times) and the Champions League (seven times). In total, he played 52 club matches last season, more than any other Barcelona player. He has only played four times in the current season due to a muscle injury.
If it is up to Barcelona, Pedri’s contract extension will not be the last for a while. General manager Reverter also said that the talks with eighteen-year-old Ansu Fati are going in the right direction. The attacker has an expiring contract, with the option to continue with each other for two more years. Barcelona also want to continue longer with Ronald Araújo, who is currently locked up at the Camp Nou until the summer of 2023, and with Gavi, who broke through this season. His contract also expires in two years.