"Barca will respect what they told me about the contract," says Pedri

Pedri Gonzalez believes that the announcement of Xavi Hernández's departure has had something to do with the team's performance in recent months. He is also confident that an offer to renew his contract, which expires in 2026, will not be long in coming.

There is still plenty of room to spare, but, at just 21 years of age and with a whole career in the elite ahead of him, the offices at Montjuic will be looking for him in the long term. He spoke about all this in the build-up to the Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG.

"I’m very calm, I know Barcelona will respect what they told me about the contract. The team is very eager and excited to face a match as important as the one we have to play. I'm coming from a bad moment personally, but I'm looking forward to the game. I'm lucky that, when I take the field, I don't think about the injuries I've had. I'm at the top of my game. The desire and the excitement make up for everything else", he said.

"This match could be the most important, like the Euro semi-finals. I've been thinking about toasting these nights at Barcelona for a long time. As for Xavi's announcement, it must have had something to do with it. We are on a very long run and we have improved on clean sheets and being strong at the back. That makes a difference. Despite not being with the team for a long time, like Frenkie or Andreas, the team has held together. We are a very complete squad and the important thing is to be united," he added.

"The favourite? Everyone indeed likes to talk about favourites. I think we're two very evenly matched teams and it's going to be a great game for the spectators. We'll try to do our best to win it," he replied.