Pedri and Trincão caught by Messi in odd moment: What are you doing? | OneFootball

Pedri and Francisco Trincão arrived at Barcelona at practically the same time, in 2020, at a stage when they were taking their first steps with the first team. The Spanish midfielder, now one of the main figures at the Catalan club and in the Spanish national team, recalled an unusual episode he experienced with the former Sporting player in their early days in Catalonia.

The two youngsters felt intimidated by the stature of the figures they encountered daily in the dressing room, among them Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi. Pedri explained that he and Trincão even got to the point of staying in the gym after training to avoid going into the dressing room, in an attempt to hide their embarrassment.

"For a few days, Trincão and I stayed in the gym after training because we were embarrassed to go into the dressing room with all those legends: Busquets, Piqué, Jordi [Alba], Leo [Messi]... We stayed there pretending as if we were stretching forever. I think I had never managed to become so flexible. We did abs, tied our boot laces really well, or talked about how training had gone that day. We were blown away just to be there," he revealed, in a piece published by 'The Players' Tribune'.

The strategy was eventually discovered by Messi. Pedri said the former Argentine captain came over to the two of them, realized what was happening and took them to the dressing room, where he showed them their respective places. "One day he came over to us. He must have realized what was happening and said, 'What are you doing there? Come inside with us.' He took us to the dressing room and showed us where our places were. We looked like two little puppies..." Pedri recalled.

Since then, the two players' careers have taken different paths. Pedri has become one of the great reference points for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, already having 249 appearances for the Catalan club and 49 international caps at the age of 23. Trincão, meanwhile, currently plays for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, after a spell at Sporting marked by winning two league titles and a Portuguese Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.