Barcelona legend lavishes praise on academy talent – ‘Players like him are underestimated’ | OneFootball

Former Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez has spoken highly of young Fermin Lopez, saying that players like him are often overlooked in today’s game.

In an interview with El Pais (h/t SPORT), the Champions League winner described Fermin as someone who always offers himself both in attack and defence.

Pedro highlighted Fermin’s willingness to make sacrifices for the team without complaining, a quality he feels goes unnoticed.

“Footballers like Fermin, who keep moving non-stop, are greatly underestimated. These players usually arrive in the box and manage to score goals too,” Pedro shared.

Lamine Yamal compared to legends

Pedro also had words of praise for Barcelona’s rising star Lamine Yamal. He called him “the most complete winger in the world” and pointed out his exceptional vision and decision-making.

Pedro praised Yamal’s ability to create chances from both wings or even when playing centrally.

Pedro has nothing but praise for Fermin Lopez. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

“He’s very good in terms of vision and decision in passing, and from there he has everything: imbalance, play inside.

“He can be on both wings, in the middle and assists very well. The most difficult thing for a great winger is to be a goalscorer like Lamine or Salah.

He compared Lamine to some of the best he has played with, saying, “I played with Hazard and Henry, and they had that rare quality. They scored 30 goals a season, and that put them among the top five players in the world.”

Looking back at his own career, Pedro expressed his satisfaction with everything he achieved after leaving Barcelona in 2015. “I’m lucky to say I’ve had a successful career, full of good times but also failures and setbacks.

“I’ve worked on myself and my mindset to keep pushing forward. I achieved success in England by winning the Premier League and in Italy by helping Lazio qualify for the Champions League,” he concluded.