Pedri: 'The Ballon d'Or is a dream'

Looking out towards the legendary Cotton Bowl, a stadium with nearly a century of history that hosted Spain vs South Korea at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, when he was not even born, Pedro González, Pedri, the magician of Spanish football, spoke to AS two days before Spain’s round-of-16 clash with Portugal with the kind of smile that suggests something special is brewing. Here is a preview of an exclusive interview he gave to AS in Dallas, which readers will be able to read in full this Sunday.

Spain vs Portugal, the $2.3 billion match. Have you watched last year’s Nations League final again? (Spain lost on penalties.)

No, not yet, but we’ll analyse it now with the coach and the analysts. We’ll look at what needs correcting, what we’ve improved and what still needs improving. There are always things to improve, and we have to remember we lost that final. We want to put that right at the World Cup.

There will be a lot of talk about the Pedri vs Vitinha matchup (Pedri smiles). You’ve faced each other many times, including in the Champions League this year. How do you rate him, and what would you take from his game?

Vitinha is world class, especially with the ball, in the way he controls the tempo of the game. Whenever I’ve played against him, I’ve been surprised by how much he runs. He’s never standing still. He always finds the free teammate with his passing and, as I said, he’s top class. He’s one of the best central midfielders in the world.

In 2025, both of you were in the Ballon d’Or conversation. We know you’re not someone who places much importance on individual awards. You even asked for your Golden Boy celebrations to be kept low-key. But tell us, have you ever pictured yourself winning the Ballon d’Or? Have you dreamed about it?

Everyone dreams of winning the Ballon d’Or. Anyone who dedicates their life to this sport does. It’s an individual award and I prefer winning team trophies, but I think if you asked any player in the national team, they’d tell you they’d love to win a Ballon d’Or. Although we already have one (laughs)...

Your breakthrough at Barcelona came alongside Messi. Have you been following his World Cup? And speaking of dreams, would you like to play a World Cup final against him?

That would be an unbelievable dream because it would mean we’ve reached the World Cup final. That would be a very good sign. I’m enjoying watching him. I enjoyed training with him, and what he’s doing now is incredible. The things he’s still capable of at his age are only possible because of the quality he has. For me, he’s the greatest player in history.

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