‘Found the right formula’… €100m Barcelona star reveals how he has finally overcome his injury woes | OneFootball

Criticism is a part of football, and it is especially noticeable at clubs like FC Barcelona. With massive expectations and a global fanbase, there is always a lot of pressure to perform. Moreover, with Barcelona being expected to compete for everything, criticism can also be dangerous.

Many former players and managers have spoken about it, and they have shown their distaste of the entire toxic environment surrounding the Catalan club. Even the Barcelona players who represent the club today are expected to go through that same level of criticism and reaction.

For young Pedri, it was an especially sensitive topic but he still chose to discuss it in his recent interview with Barça One. As highlighted by SPORT, the Spaniard spoke in detail about how important confidence can be for a player and the fact that his recurring injuries are now a thing of the past:

“For a player, confidence is very important, and Flick gives you that. He trusts you to do what you know best, and on top of that, injuries are now in the past.”

As for his personal level, one that has been extraordinary this season, Pedri also claimed that this was his best campaign yet at Barcelona:

“So far, this has been my best season at Barça, along with my first one, but it needs to be reflected in titles. This is the season where I feel the most comfortable.”

However, he also chose to talk about the feelings of being criticized whenever he suffered injuries and all the blatant lies that were told about his lifestyle and that claimed that the injuries might be a result of a lack of care for his own health:

“You try to shut out the noise, but even if you don’t hear it yourself, others tell you—things like ‘he’s partying too much’ or ‘he’s not putting in the work at the gym’… It’s not true. You shouldn’t give it importance, but it does affect you.”

Yet, Pedri revealed that the reason behind his recovery from his injuries was not due to an increase in training workload, and that he still trains the same amount:

“I train the same amount, I’ve just changed the way I do it, not the time I dedicate to it. When you keep getting injured, it’s really tough because you don’t know what to adjust, what to change, or what’s wrong in your life. It’s been a process that has taught me a lot.”

Instead, the €100 million-rated midfielder made sure to give credit to the physios and trainers that have enabled him to find a better version of himself. A more consistent training regime and participation is what Pedri believes he needed, and the results have surely reflected that so far.