Barcelona manager Xavi has praised Pedri and Gavi amid their impressive World Cup performances for Spain.
The former Barca midfielder was doing media work for RTVE in Qatar and was asked about the two youngsters, who have previously been compared to himself and his midfield partner, Andres Iniesta.
He said (via Mundo Deportivo): “Gavi is a leader, he puts quality wherever he goes, he is extraordinary, and Pedri‘s a marvel technically, they make a difference with us and also with the national team.
“They are extraordinary players and they have everything to mark an era.”
TIF Thoughts on Gavi and Pedri…
The World Cup winner’s comments came shortly before the young pair delivered superb performances against Germany in Spain’s second game in Qatar, and they perfectly justified the high praise they have received.
Gavi completed four tackles against the Germans, whilst Pedri completed four dribbles and had an 89% pass accuracy rate, as per Sofascore. Meanwhile, the pair were incredibly impressive against Costa Rica just days before.
The comparisons between these two youngsters and arguably Barcelona’s two best-ever midfielders have come early in their careers, but they possess the style and technique to replicate the way Xavi and Iniesta used to control games.
Both legends played ahead of Sergio Busquets, who was now anchoring a much younger midfield duo, and they brought back the fluid passing and possession-dominant style that the golden generation of Spain used to win. With 64% of the ball against Germany, they stepped up yet again for Luis Enrique.