Man United legend waxes lyrical over Barcelona maestro – ‘Combination of Xavi and Iniesta’ | OneFootball

Pedri’s performance in FC Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League last week garnered a lot of praise.

While Marcus Rashford and Joan Garcia stole the headlines, the midfield superstar was equally important to the victory, as he and Frenkie de Jong controlled the game brilliantly from the middle of the park.

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was one of many who came out in praise of the Spaniard, claiming that the Barcelona star was his favourite footballer.

More praise from Scholes

Now, Scholes once again heaped praise on Pedri on the podcast The Good, The Bad & The Football, which he co-hosts with fellow Manchester United legend Nicky Butt and comedian Paddy McGuinness.

The pundits were asked to make a Top 5 of the best midfielders in the world right now, and Scholes had no doubts about placing the Barcelona star at the very top of his ranking.

Pedri has a new fan in Paul Scholes. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“The number 1 is Pedri. When I saw him against Newcastle, I said, ‘Wow!’… He’s like a combination of Xavi and Iniesta,” said Scholes, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

“We’re not just talking about his feet, but above all, his football intelligence. Sometimes he finds himself in difficult situations, and the way he overcomes them with a little one-two or a shoulder feint is incredible. His technique is brilliant,” he added.

Scholes, who admitted that he had not been watching La Liga in recent years and did not know about Pedri’s quality, was left astonished by the Barcelona midfielder’s performance against Newcastle at St James’ Park.

“The best thing was that when Newcastle scored, there were 8 minutes of stoppage time left. I thought it was going to be exciting…,” said Scholes.

But Pedri had the ball for 7 of the 8 minutes. He took complete control of the game. I thought it was brilliant,” the Manchester United legend concluded.