Barcelona currently boasts two of the best young players on the planet in the form of Pedri and Gavi. Both players won the Kopa Trophy in recent years and are tipped to be huge players for both Barca as well as the Spanish national team for the next decade at least.
Fortunately for Barca, the two midfielders have created a very special bond with each other since uniting at the Spanish club. Pedri is around a year elder than Gavi and has gotten along with him really well.
It was Pedri who accompanied Gavi at the Ballon d’Or ceremony last year and kept his nerves intact on what was a huge night for the youngster. Gavi, of course, won the Kopa Trophy ahead of the likes of Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham. He found a lot of support from his Barca teammate, who is also his best friend and mentor.
What some fans might not know is that the Barca duo’s close friendship has only gotten stronger with them arriving at training sessions together. Pedri took the responsibility to drive Gavi to Barca’s training sessions over the last year or so, mostly because his good buddy didn’t have a driving license.
The minimum age to obtain a driving license in Spain is 18. A person who wants to obtain one has to undergo two tests. These include the driving theory test (this could be exempted if one holds any other license). For someone driving a car, they’d need to pass a Practical test of Manoeuvres (on a closed track) and then a practical test on the road.
Gavi couldn’t drive a car last season because he wasn’t an adult yet, only turning 18 on August 2022. That is why Pedri worked as a carpool driver for him, with the two always being seen arriving at training together for the majority of last year.
With that being said, Gavi decided to get his driving license soon after he turned 18. He couldn’t do it immediately after becoming an adult, because of how hectic the early season was due to the Qatar World Cup taking place in November-December.
However, Gavi took time to get his license after the turn of the year and can now officially drive himself to training. This also means that Pedri doesn’t have to drive him to the training facility all the time anymore, even though he probably didn’t mind doing so – as it allowed him to spend more time with his good buddy.
The majority of the Barca squad probably played a part in urging Gavi to get his own license because they held a mini-celebration of that at a recent training session. Footage from a training session saw the Barcelona players create a guard of honour for Gavi in training and congratulate him with a few pats on his back.
Even though he might come off as an energetic, occasionally aggressive child – Gavi is now officially an adult and is legally able to make his own decisions over some key aspects of his career. That involves negotiating his own contract, even drinking (if he wants) and importantly – driving his own car – which is obviously a key life skill to have for any professional footballer.