"Nobody deserves the Ballon d'Or more" - Gavi believes Barcelona teammate deserves award more than Raphinha, Mo Salah and other contenders
Barcelona starlet Gavi has backed Pedri to win the Ballon d'Or this year. The 22-year-old has been indispensable for the Catalans this season, registering five goals and six assists from 41 games across competitions.
Thirty-nine of these have been starts, signifying Pedri's importance to Hansi Flick's plans. The Spanish midfielder has shrugged off his injury troubles and looks like a man on a mission this season.
Pedri was adjudged the Man of the Match in Barcelona's 1-0 first-leg win over Benfica last week in the Champions League Round of 16. On Tuesday, he helped the Catalans secure a 3-1 win at home in the second leg, powering the club to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 aggregate score.
Raphinha scored a brace while Lamine Yamal also found the back of the net but it was Pedri who won the Man of the Match award once again. While the Brazilian forward is fast emerging as a frontrunner for this year's Ballon d'Or, Gavi reckons Pedri is in with a shout as well.
On Tuesday, the 20-year-old insisted that no one deserves the award more than his countryman, saying (via GOAL):
“Nobody deserves the Ballon d’Or more than Pedri, everyone knows what kind of a player he is."
Pedri signed a new deal with Barcelona in January that will keep him at the LaLiga club until 2030.
How many Barcelona players have won the Ballon d'Or?
Six Barcelona players have won the Ballon d'Or 12 times in the history of the awards, the joint most for a single club along with Real Madrid. Among them, Lionel Messi has single-handedly won the coveted award six times during his time at Camp Nou.
The diminutive Argentinean won the award four times on the go from 2009 to 2012, as well as in 2015 and 2019. La Pulga has also lifted the top prize once with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021 and Inter Miami in 2023.
Meanwhile, the first Barcelona player to win the Ballon d'Or was legendary Spanish midfielder Luis Suarez in 1960. Johan Cruyff also lifted the coveted award in 1973 and 1974 during his time at Camp Nou.
Hristo Stoichkov got his name on the list in 1994 while Rivaldo won the award in 1999. Ronaldinho was the last Catalan player to win the award before Lionel Messi began his dominance.
