‘We were like puppies’ – Pedri reveals how Lionel Messi welcomed him into the Barcelona locker room

Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri revealed his first interactions with Lionel Messi at the start of his career with Barca before Messi's 2021 departure.

Many people forget that Pedri is not a graduate of Barcelona's iconic 'La Masia' academy, as the team signed a 17-year-old Pedri from Las Palmas for $5 million in 2020 before he earned his way into the senior squad.

Pedri's first full season with Barcelona was Lionel Messi's last, as the Catalan club couldn't afford to re-sign the legend, who left for PSG in 2021.

Pedri shares the full story of meeting Lionel Messi for the first time

In a letter on The Players Tribune , Pedri penned down his first interaction with Messi, describing how the legend helped him and new signing Rafael Trincao acclimatise to a locker room full of Spanish legends.

"When I opened the door to the players' area, guess who is the first person that I saw? It's Leo. He's standing in front of me. I was basically speechless. I tried to introduce myself. I don't know what I said. He just smiled and told me to relax and come into the dressing room."

"For the first few days, we used to just stay in the gym after training, because we were too embarrassed to go into the dressing room with all these legends: Busquets , Piqué , Jordi, Leo. We just stood around pretending that we were stretching forever."

"Finally, Leo walked by one day, and he must have figured out what was going on. He said: 'Hey, what are you guys doing in here? Come in and chill with us'. Leo brought us into the dressing room and showed us where to sit. We were like two puppies. 'Here? I can sit here?' I'll forever be grateful to him for that. Leo and Jordi broke the ice and made us so comfortable."

Even though they shared only one season as teammates, Pedri has repeatedly maintained that Messi is the player he views as the greatest of all time.

Pedri won the 2026 World Cup final against Messi's Argentina with Spain, and spoke on Messi's incredible ability and how his mind for the sport transcends everyone else.

"I had the luck of being able to play and train with him, and I enjoyed and learned a lot from him. Now, well, I enjoy him very much… He sees football a little before the others and knows where to be to score a goal. Of quality, he is overflowing; he has more than all the others. I think that what he does at his age, only he can do."

While Barcelona fans keep hoping they play together again if Messi somehow returns to end his career with the Catalan club, it's clear that Pedri would welcome that opportunity as well.