Real Madrid legend Kroos hails Barcelona star Pedri: ‘He’s the best in the world’ | OneFootball

Former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos has this weekend moved to reveal his appreciation for the talents of Barcelona standout Pedri.

Midfielder Pedri, for his part, is of course in the midst of nothing short of a sensational individual campaign to date.

Having seemingly put his long-standing fitness woes firmly behind him, the 22-year-old has looked back to his brilliant best, standing out as one of world football’s best in his role.

And one individual on whom such ongoing excellence has not been lost comes in the form of the aforementioned Toni Kroos.

Speaking on his personal podcast, as cited by Diario Sport, on Sunday, Real Madrid icon Kroos did not at all hold back in his praise for a player whom he considers ‘the best in the world in his position’:

“Pedri is almost more important than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha or Lewandowski. They are the ones who decide the games, but to achieve this, Pedri is currently the best player in the world in his position, in my opinion. He’s a player who is missed when he’s not playing, against anyone. Not only does he score goals, but he also gives assists. It gives you solutions. I’ve seen what Pedri is doing this season, and in the Champions League alone, he beats 52 opponents per game. In La Liga, things are even more extreme: they beat 59 opponents per game. He beats 11 or 12 defenders per game, the most difficult thing for a midfielder.”

Kroos continued:

“He’s the best in the world. Pedri is one of the few midfielders who has the gift of beating someone with dribbling in tight spaces. A player like Pedri helps you in all phases of the game. He doesn’t seem fast but then he starts dribbling, you think he’ll at least make a mistake, but no. He doesn’t look like Messi, for example, who is seen moving at incredible speed. Pedri doesn’t look fast, but he is. He’s fast because his movement is incredibly light.”

Conor Laird – GSFN