Xavi Gives Barcelona's 'New Iniesta' Important Advice

Xavi Hernandez has given a Barcelona starlet some piece of advice amid a seemingly critical situation.

Unlike other youngsters in the sport, Pedri isn’t struggling to secure his spot in the squads he plays for.

In fact, the 18-year-old has even become one of the most in-demand players in Spain, suiting up for the Euro 2020 and possibly the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

However, Barcelona is not in favor of letting him exhaust himself heading into the new La Liga season happening next month.

Sharing his thoughts on the subject, Barca all-time great Hernandez--who won a silver medal with Spain at the 2000 Olympics--advised Pedri to grab the “opportunity” to play for such a prestigious tournament like the Olympics.

For Hernandez, these are the kind of opportunities that might only knock once.

“If I were Pedri, I would go to the [Olympic] Games,” Hernandez recently told Mundo Deportivo. “I had the opportunity at the time and they are opportunities that do not return.”

“He is 18 years old and the footballer wants to play, it is a unique opportunity to go to the Games,” he added. “If you ask Pedri, he will tell you that he is excited.”

Pedri, on the other hand, also sees the same thing about his unique situation.

As per the Barca rising star, being as active as he could possibly be is definitely good for his soaring career.

“Like any child, what I love is to play and the more games the better,” Pedri told El Pais. “It is true that I have many games, but I can be playing all year,” he said. “After the games, I end up tired like everyone else, but after three days I’m ready to play again and with my batteries recharged.”

“I had never played so many games in a row,” the teenager continued. “As a child, the normal thing is that I never get tired, now I notice more the physical level of professionalism and you have to take advantage of the time to rest. The first moments I am tired, but after two or three days I am fine. Mentally I am strong, I am very sure of what I do.”

This past season, Pedri became Lionel Messi’s new co-star, having bagged four goals for Barcelona across all competitions.

Though Pedri appears to be carving his own name in the sport, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of another Barcelona legend in Andres Iniesta.

“I always loved [Andres] Iniesta and his way of playing soccer, because of how he was both on and off the field,” Pedri told the Associated Press earlier this year. “He has been my reference and I have tried to model myself on him.”

“The truth is that something must have stuck. I think I have seen all the videos of (Iniesta) on YouTube. I never missed a game of his, so I guess some of it wears off.”