We Can Progress Ahead Of Barcelona – Pedro

Pedro is looking forward to the challenge of facing former teammate Lionel Messi in the Champions League on Tuesday, but has cautioned that, while Messi might be the world’s best player, he is not invincible.

“It’s difficult… he [Messi] is the best player in the world,” Pedro told the Independent. “But he’s not invincible. It’s probably a hard game for us, a massive game, but if the team are really focused on fighting together, you never know in football.

“We’ll have possibilities to get through. But, obviously, it’s Barcelona. It’s Leo Messi. It’s very difficult to stop this guy because he’s very quick, very clever out on the pitch. But, look, it’s not impossible.”

“It’s a special game for me,” Pedro said. “I played for so many years in this team, and I have so many friends there, and a lot of good memories, of my time at that club.

“It was an incredible time with a special team. They’re one of the biggest teams in the world. It’s easier to win titles there, probably, than over here because they have very good players like Leo Messi and others, the best players in the world. For this reason, I’m very happy to have played my part and to have won those titles with them.

“It’s unbelievable. They’re such good players. Leo Messi is the best player in the world for me, but look at the others: Andres [Iniesta], Xavi and all the others, [Thierry] Henry, Ronaldinho, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Samuel] Eto’o… so many of them.

“Then there are the likes of [Carlos] Puyol, [Eric] Abidal… the list goes on. I was lucky enough to play with them all, such good players, and stayed more years with them. I learned so much from them as teammates. It was a great honour for me to be there with them, and such a big part of my development as a player from a young age, playing with this type of player.”