Pedri: The one that got away from Real Betis

On August 17, 2019 at the age of just 16, Pedri played at the Estadio Benito Villamarin for the first time. He turned out for Las Palmas in Ruben Castro's testimonial against Real Betis.

That same day, Las Palmas coach Pepe Mel spoke to the Betis hierarchy and told them to sign the youngster, who he believed had a bright future ahead of him in the game. He hadn't played in a first-team match at the club, but he had seen enough in pre-season to convince them of his talents.

Betis trusted in Mel's opinion and opened talks with Las Palmas over a move to sign the youngster, but despite various days of negotiations, an agreement wasn't reached.

An insufficient offer

Betis had already spent big on the signings of Nabil Fekir, Juanmi and Emerson and practically all the funds they had left had been set aside for Alex Moreno and Borja Iglesias. This meant that the fee wanted by Las Palmas for Pedri was a step too far for Los Verdiblancos and just a few weeks later he moved to Barcelona.

The young star slipped out of their grasp and has since gone on to shine at the Camp Nou. On Sunday, after becoming an integral part of Ronald Koeman's Barcelona side, Pedri could come back to haunt Betis as the Catalan outfit visit the Benito Villamarin.