Thiago Alcantara believes there is no better midfielder in the world than Barcelona and Spain talent Pedri, comparing him to former Blaugrana great Andrés Iniesta. Pedri contributed to Hansi Flick's side's defense of their LaLiga title and played a key role in Barcelona's 2022-23 title win. Adding to his 2024 European Championship glory with Spain, Barcelona assistant Thiago struggles to see a player in the world who can compete with Pedri in his role. "Pedri is the best midfielder for me in the world right now," Thiago said on the Rio Ferdinand podcast. "When I was a player and played with him, and now that I'm a coach, I have the same feeling that I had with Iniesta at the time. "That plasticity while he plays, like always moving diagonally, and as you move, you see what's happening around you and make the right decisions." Thiago rightly highlights Pedri's movement and the amount of ground he covers: no player in Europe's top five leagues has made more than 346 ball recoveries in 2025. None Barcelona midfielder could match Pedri's 43 tackles last season, nor 225 possession recoveries. Indeed, Pedri has provided the perfect cover for Barcelona's attacking riches, which also includes Spanish teammate Lamine Yamal. Thiago sees no reason why Yamal cannot become the best player in the world, having once again shone in the 2025-26 LaLiga competition. becoming the only player to reach double figures in both metrics in LaLiga. “Yes, he was going to get there last year, so why not?” said Thiago on the possibility that Yamal could become the best player in the world. “Now with the World Cup, he is playing well, he has made a huge change for Spain and why not next year? I practiced with him to see how good the players are or what schemes they have, and talking about small-team games, he made the difference in those games. You know when it's on one side of two or three teams, that team is going to win."
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