Barcelona Signs teenage phenom Pedri Gonzalez to massive contract through 2026

On Wednesday, Barcelona signed teenage midfielder phenom Pedri Gonzalez Lopez to a contract through 2026 with a release clause rising to €1 billion ($1.16 billion), the Catalan club confirmed. His previous deal was set to expire after this upcoming season once the transfer window closed in the summer. Spain's international release clause has more than doubled in the process (it was previously €400 million) to set a new club record.

The previous record was Antoine Griezmann’s contract of an €800m buyout option, which was the previous record in 2019. Pedri, who will turn just 19 in November, has broken out over the last 14 months since he joined Barca from Las Palmas in 2020 for an initial fee of around €5m. With add-ons, the deal could potentially be worth €25m to the Canary Islanders. In his first season at Barcelona, he made 52 appearances for the senior team where he became a regular in midfield alongside Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong.

Pedri went on to be a key member for La Roja at Euro 2020, while being named the Young Player of the Tournament, and was the only Spanish player in the Team of the Tournament after a semifinal exit to eventual winners, Italy. He was a part of Spain's team that went to the Japan Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in an extra-time defeat to Brazil in the final. As a result, he's among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or this year, the only Barca player on the shortlist, while also being in the running for the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy award, prizes for the game's best young player.

Barcelona should be very joyous over the signing of Pedri as they now look to sign fellow young stars Ansu Fati, Gavi, and Ronald Araujo to new deals in the coming months