SME News UK. Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri has revealed his ambition to one day lift the Ballon d\u2019Or, inspired by national teammate Rodri\u2019s historic 2024 triumph. The Manchester City star\u2019s victory broke the dominance of forwards in the prestigious award, offering hope to midfielders across the game.”For a long time, this award was mainly given to strikers,” Pedri told *L\u2019Equipe*. “Rodri\u2019s victory proves that the role of the midfielder is finally being recognised. A lot of football is played in midfield \u2014 when a team dominates that area, it wins matches more easily. So yes, why not dream of winning the Ballon d\u2019Or during my career? But to do that, we\u2019ll need to have a very good season as a team.”The 21-year-old believes Barcelona\u2019s quest to retain their La Liga title will be key to his chances, and he also weighed in on this year\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or race. Pedri singled out Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 \u2014 both shortlisted \u2014 for their outstanding seasons.”Playing with them is a real pleasure,” Pedri said. “Lamine dares to take on defenders with incredible confidence, dribbles with ease, and is strong with both feet \u2014 you can\u2019t even tell which is his favourite. This season he\u2019s added a lot of goals to his game. As for Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, he\u2019s unpredictable and can attack from either side, which makes him so hard to defend against. He\u2019s been decisive all year.”Pedri also acknowledged the talent within rivals Real Madrid\u2019s squad, particularly Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, while reflecting on Barcelona\u2019s recent dominance in El Cl\u00e1sico.”Jude is truly impressive \u2014 he combines physical strength and technical skill, making him difficult to deal with,” Pedri noted. “In the last four Cl\u00e1sicos, we\u2019ve contained him by controlling the game. We enjoy it most when we dictate the pace, rather than letting Jude, Vin\u00edcius or Mbapp\u00e9 run the show. And when Mbapp\u00e9 gets the ball one-on-one, he\u2019s very hard to stop.”With the Ballon d\u2019Or conversation heating up, Pedri\u2019s mix of ambition, humility, and competitive fire highlights why he remains one of the brightest talents in world football \u2014 and a potential future contender for the sport\u2019s ultimate individual prize.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SME News UK. Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri has revealed his ambition to one day lift the Ballon d\u2019Or, inspired by national teammate Rodri\u2019s historic 2024 triumph. The Manchester City star\u2019s victory broke the dominance of forwards in the prestigious award, offering hope to midfielders across the game.”For a long time, this award was mainly…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n