Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has been hurling praise in the direction of Barcelona star Pedri.
There’s a bit of history between the two players. Pedri was injured by a nasty challenge from Kroos in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 that saw him ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
Kroos did offer up an apology, which was accepted by Pedri, and the former German international has now revealed just how much he admires the Barca star.
“Pedri is generally a player who is sorely missed when he is not on the pitch. He doesn’t just score goals or provide assists, he provides solutions,” he said on his podcast.
“Beating opponents doesn’t always have to be with a pass, but Pedri is one of the few midfielders who has the gift of dribbling past opponents in tight spaces.
“He’s almost more important than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha or Lewandowski. They are the ones who decide the outcome of matches, but to achieve that, Pedri is currently the best player in the world in his position, in my opinion.”
Kroos also spoke about what it’s like to play against Pedri and how deceptive he can be.
“I always had the feeling that he doesn’t seem fast, but then he started dribbling and I said to myself: ‘At least he made a mistake, but even that I couldn’t do’” he added.
“He’s not like Messi, for example, who you see moving at incredible speed. This player doesn’t look fast, but he actually is. He’s fast because his movement is incredibly light.”
The German’s words come just a week before his old team Madrid are set to face Barcelona in El Clasico. Victory for Hansi Flick’s side next week at Montjuic will be enough to secure the title for the Catalan giants.