Pedro Rodriguez: Lazio’s Veteran Talisman | OneFootball

All things considered, it’s been a fairly quiet summer transfer window for Lazio. The Biancocelesti have made two major sales, with backup forward Loum Tchaouana joining Burnley for €15.15 million, whilst Nicolo Casale completed Bologna on a permanent deal for €6.5 million. As far as incomings, they’ve only managed to complete permanent deals for five players, all of whom spent the previous season on loan: Nuno Tavares, Nicolo Rovella, Luca Pellegrini, Samuel Gigot and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. This isn’t a coincidence: Lazio incurred a transfer ban after failing to meet financial requirements related to the liquidity index, debt, and extended labor costs, preventing them from signing new players until January 2026, apart from previous loanees. It’s also part of the reason why Lazio decided to renew Pedro Rodriguez’s contract for an additional year through June 2026.

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Pedro started off at local club San Isidro and attracting the attention of Barcelona, who spotted him at a youth competition on his native island. He made the move to La Masia in 2005 and helped them achieve promotion in 2007/08 to the Spanish second-tier, prompting Frank Rijkaard to try him out in the first team on January 12, 2008. After contributing to Barcelona’s treble-winning 2008/09 side under new manager Pep Guardiola, Pedro took his game to another stratosphere in 2009/10, scoring 23 goals and 9 assists in 52 appearances and scoring in each of the six competitions that Barcelona took part in.

Pedro provided invaluable for the Blaugranas with his hard running, his creative link-up play, and his ice-cold finishing in tense situations, racking up 99 goals and 61 assists in 321 matches, whilst he also helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros. And after serving as a valued backup behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. and helping them win a treble, he departed Catalunya in 2015 and made the move to Chelsea, where he won the Premier League, FA Cup, and the UEFA Europa League. Across his five years in West London, Pedro played under Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, and Frank Lampard and registered 43 goals and 26 assists in 206 appearances before eventually departing in 2020 to make way for new signings Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz. He joined Roma on a free transfer, where he emerged as a vital cog under Paulo Fonseca, chipping in 6 goals and 7 assists in 40 appearances in 2020/21, only to be forced out following the arrival of Mourinho.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that was certainly the case with Pedro, who remained put in Rome and joined the club’s eternal rivals Lazio on a free transfer. Whereas Mourinho wasn’t all too keen on a reunion, Sarri was. The veteran Spaniard quickly established himself as an X-factor in attack thanks to his composure in the final third, his impressive creative skills and his superb ball-striking, helping Lazio finish second in 2022/23 and return to the UEFA Champions League. Sarri parted ways in March 2024 after nearly three years at the helm, with Igor Tudor taking charge for the final two months of the campaign before being replaced by Marco Baroni, who, after a promising start, crashed and burned and was run out of town after a season that saw Lazio finish seventh for a second-straight season. However, if there was one bright light to the campaign, it was Pedro. Despite starting the majority of his matches on the bench, Pedro finished as the club’s joint-top scorer alongside Valentin Castellanos (14 goals) and proved invaluable with a late winner against Milan as well as braces against Inter and Parma.

He was arguably Lazio’s best player of the entire season, but he was unable to help them secure European football after losing 1-0 to a 10-man Lecce side on the final day and being leapfrogged by Fiorentina for the final spot. It’s why Lazio decided to dismiss Baroni and bring back Sarri who, after a 15-month sabbatical, returned to Le Aquile. They kicked off the new campaign at Como, falling behind after the break and prompting Sarri to throw on Pedro and Adam Marusic for Matteo Cancellieri and Manuel Lazzarri at the hour-mark. However, Pedro was unable to deliver the goods as Como prevailed with a 2-0 victory.

From Lazio’s starting line-up, Oliver Provstgaard was four years old when Pedro made his first-team debut for Barcelona, Dele-Bashiru was six, and Cancellieri was five. And Pedro continues to age like fine wine and inculcate his teammates with the wisdom that can only come from two decades of playing experience. And at 38 years of age, he looks set to play an instrumental role for Lazio as they look to reassert themselves in Italian football’s upper echelon.