Since his return to Barcelona as coach in 2021, Xavi has not performed to the kind of attacking play that supporters would have anticipated.

He did, however, know who the squad most missed in that regard when he was sidelined due to injury at the end of the previous season, when Barca won their first league title since Lionel Messi’s exit.

Coaching staff sources, who like all those referenced in this piece will stay anonymous to safeguard relationships, stated of Xavi’s mentality, “without Pedri, everything falls apart.”

However, in Barcelona’s last four league games, the 21-year-old midfielder has not been included in the starting lineup. This is less than a year after his debut. Xavi has maintained that Pedri is fully fit since his injury comeback more than a month ago, but things are looking very different for him today.

The team is using that tactic in part to shield a player who has had injury problems over the previous three years. Xavi and Barca want to take all precaution to guarantee Pedri’s seamless return to full fitness and do not want to overwork him.

However, the club has been increasingly concerned about some of his recent on-pitch contributions; they had previously taken his arrival from Las Palmas in 2020 for granted.

“Every Barca player experiences difficult times from time to time, but it’s certainly not the case for him now that he’s making his breakthrough in the first team,” a club source said.

It everything comes down to ups and downs. We are aware of how the players are scrutinized and affected by the strain they are under.

The first and only match Pedri has started since returning from his most recent setback—a quad injury he sustained against Athletic Bilbao in early March—is the return leg of Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Paris Saint-Germain, according to the source. After Ronald Araujo’s red card left them down to 10 men, Pedri struggled and was replaced after 62 minutes. Barca lost the match 4-1 that evening.

Five days later, there was a La Liga Clasico at Santiago Bernabeu. After the break, Pedri entered the game and was caught trailing back while attempting to catch Luka Modric, which allowed Jude Bellingham to score the game-winning goal for Real Madrid in stoppage time.

Even those close to the 18-cap Spain international claim they have never felt this much doubt and worry around Pedri, despite executive sources at Barcelona insisting the player is one of the team’s “untouchables” during this summer’s transfer window.

At Barcelona, trading him in the summer of last year would have been considered blasphemy. People at the club nowadays would not be so audacious as to say that.

The atmosphere around Barcelona, or its “entorno,” is poisonous. It frequently centers on underperforming players and is encouraged by influential people within the team.

This season, Pedri has had to deal with the fallout from it, including rumors about his lifestyle that have called into question his professionalism. The athlete and others close to him have been compelled to refute those claims.

“People talk a lot about you when you’re injured,” Pedri stated in a January interview with live streamer Ibai Llanos. They’ve said that I enjoy going out to parties and that I go out frequently, which is untrue.

“They also said that I play in fear of getting hurt again, but I can assure you that I completely forget about injuries as soon as I hit the field.”

Following the recent loss to Madrid, his brother Fernando responded on social media to claims that Pedri was more concerned about having a good time than playing for Barcelona.

“You may or may not like my brother’s athletic career, but to doubt his work ethic and commitment to the team is to simply not know us at all,” he declared. “You people are complete fools and liars.”

Pedri is unfazed by the commotion around him; he wants to succeed at Barcelona, the team he has loved since he was a young boy and his family was a part of an official Barca fan club in Tegueste, on the island of Tenerife.

However, he is aware that there are still issues to be resolved regarding his future.

Prior to the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal matchup against PSG, Pedri last made a public statement. Then, he stated to reporters that he thought the team will “fulfill their promise with him.”

That verbal agreement was made between the player’s camp and Barcelona in 2021, the year of his most recent contract extension, according to a reliable source.

Pedri was promised a contract review by Barca’s sporting directors, who were then commanded by Mateu Alemany, in the medium term to take into account his status as one of their main players. Although there was no deadline established because of Barca’s dire financial circumstances, everyone involved knew exactly what they wanted to happen.

But as of right now, there hasn’t been any progress in this fresh round of negotiations. Pedri’s contract expires in 2026.

The midfield player is not in a hurry. His only goal, according to those closest to him, is to ensure that, following his recent challenges with injuries, he returns to his best self.

Julio Tous, the former fitness coach for Chelsea, is anticipated to join the backroom staff next season, which he will appreciate. Tous will concentrate on strengthening exercises and preventing injuries, which is an area that the club felt required work. Additionally, Raul Martinez, the former physiotherapist for the Spanish national team, who has been consulted as an outside specialist for the past two years, will collaborate with Barca more closely.

Despite the fact that Pedri hasn’t competed for Spain since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there is anticipation that he will feature for his nation at the European Championship in Germany this summer. Due to his ongoing issues, he has not been eligible for selection since Luis de la Fuente became leadership of the national team in February of last year. However, considering his talent and the fact that squads now consist of 26 players, he may be granted a position.

Pedri hopes that event will be a turning point in his career and an opportunity to get back to his best.

Above all, following the most complicated season he has ever had at Barcelona, he will look to start over.