Barcelona midfielder heaps praise on Real Madrid superstar duo – ‘Truly incredible’ | OneFootball

Speaking in an interview with France Football (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Barcelona midfield superstar Pedri lavished praise on Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Last season, the Blaugrana enjoyed great dominance over Los Blancos – winning each of the four El Clasico encounters, in the process costing the Spanish capital giants the La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup titles.

As such, Real Madrid have gone all out to improve their squad this summer, changing their manager and making four new signings.

Talking about Real Madrid, Pedri insisted that they remain Barcelona’s strongest rivals and pointed out the qualities of Mbappe and Bellingham that make them dangerous.

“Real Madrid have a lot of very good players. When Mbappe has the ball and is in a one-on-one situation, it’s very difficult to stop him,” Pedri said.

“And Jude Bellingham is truly incredible. He combines physical strength with technical skill, which makes him extremely difficult to play against,” he added.

Pedri was full of praise for Mbappe and Bellingham. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Pedri is among the Top 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, as are both Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, along with last year’s runner-up Vinicius Jr, who lost the top prize to Manchester City’s Rodri.

And Pedri stated that the Spanish international’s victory last year gives him hope that he can also win the golden orb in the future.

“The Ballon d’Or often goes to forwards, but Rodri’s award shows that the role of midfielders needs to be valued more. Why can’t I dream of winning it one day?”

Apart from Pedri, Barcelona have three more nominations in the Ballon d’Or race with Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha also making the final 30.