Every season, the footballing universe experiences the birth of a new star. These ‘stars’, naturally gifted, are exhilarating to look at on the field and often give out an aura of someone who was born to be doing that. Pedri, when he debuted against Villarreal, looked so comfortable that one had to actually confirm his age to believe it.
As the financial turmoil in the club was brewing, Pedri and Gavi were the only hopes for the future that the fans looked forward to. While the latter is still a teen, Pedri seems to have ‘aged’ a bit and that has surprised the fans.
During his 73rd-minute introduction against Valencia in La Liga, Pedri was brought on by Xavi, to get things running at the center of the pitch with the score tied 2-2. Barcelona ended winning the game 4-2 however what caught the attention of fans is that Pedri has stubble.
A youngster growing a beard should be a normal thing but for Barcelona fans, it means Pedri is aging. On X, the Catalan fans reshared the picture of the Spaniard thousands of times commenting on how he looks like a older despite being just 21.
Pedri, however, has had the stubble for some time now. Pictures of him even from 2023 show patches of facial hair. However, it is not just the facial hair that has ticked the imagination of fans, but also his appearance.
In 2020/21, Pedri had played more than three thousand five hundred minutes of club football alone. He played a total of 73 games that season. Fans feel the stress and fatigue of playing this many games in a season has made an immense impact on his appearance.
Since then, Pedri has missed 75 games due to injuries, limiting him to just 19 games in the league this season. Pedri’s bearded look also garnered a lot of female attention as well, knowing Pedri is still single.
The bearded Pedri, in reality, looks more mature on the pitch. His passing range and tempo have also seen a substantial shift from his early days, as a result of so many injuries. He is no longer the athletic and combative midfielder who was touted for a similar career as his manager. The management is also trying to safeguard the Spaniard by limiting his game time so that he doesn’t suffer like Ansu Fati.
In the world where fans have an immortalized ‘bearded’ Messi, ‘noodle-hair’ Ronaldo, ‘Mohawk’ Neymar, and ‘long hair’ Luka, can ‘stubble’ Pedri regain his stature in the Catalan capital?
Update: As it turns out even Pedri has grown weary of his beard and decided to rock a clean shaven look again during a recent training session –