Barcelona youngster Pedri to have higher release clause than Lionel Messi

After losing Lionel Messi to Paris Saint Germain during the summer transfer window, Barcelona's season has taken a dip with the team struggling at the club and European level. With Lionel Messi gone the Catalan club is now looking up to its youngsters to come up with a brilliant performance on the field. Talking about youngsters stepping up for the club, midfielder Pedri has had an outstanding season for both club and the country and now Barcelona is looking to secure the future of their key players by awarding him a contract which with fend off some of Europe's biggest club.

Barcelona contract talks with Pedri

According to a report by Goal Barcelona are in advanced talks over renewing Pedri's contract, which will run until the 2026 season. Barcelona is reportedly planning to include a release clause that will improve his contract. Pedri release clause is expected to be worth more than €600m (£509m/$694m).  The talks between the player and the club have only accelerated in the last 24 hours and Pedri is happy to stay with the Catalan club.  Despite an outstanding last season 18-year-old midfielder is the lowest played footballer in the first team. The report also states that despite strong interest in Pedri, no concrete offers were put on the table and the teenager is happy to extend his stay at Camp Nou having joined the club from Las Palmas in 2020.

What is Pedri release clause? 

According to Goal Pedri's release clause is now being dubbed as an 'anti-Sheikh' clause to fend interest from a footballing powerhouse. In Pedri's case, having such a high release clause would mean that an interested party would have to pay a world-record transfer fee to land him. It is understood Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has a release clause that is as much as €1 billion (£850m/$1.1bn).

Pedri stats

Coming to Pedri stats, the youngster has played 9 Champions League games across two seasons and has scored just 1 goal. In La Liga, Pedri has played 39 matches in two seasons scoring 3 goals and providing 3 assists to date. In the 2021/2022 season, Pedri has featured in 2 matches but is yet to score or assist so far.