Barcelona Found The Perfect Lionel Messi Co-Star, Reports Say

Lionel Messi may have finally found the perfect on-pitch partner in Pedri.

In what appears to be one of Barcelona’s most difficult seasons, Pedri emerged to aid Messi. The 18-year-old has proven that he is worthy of becoming Barca’s future superstar by complementing the Argentine icon. In fact, Pedri is now considered as Messi’s new co-star, several outlets from Spain, including Marca and AS, reported.

During Barcelona’s thrashing of Valladolid Tuesday, Messi broke an incredible Pele goal record when he scored his 644th goal. However, what turned out to be “arguably” the most significant moment of the Catalans' win was the reaction from Messi after the feat.

Instead of savoring his accomplishment, “Leo” immediately turned and pointed to Pedri, the youngster who provided the sensational assist, acknowledging the youngster’s contribution, Goal reported.

Pedri had just turned 18 a month ago, but he’s already been making his mark in Barcelona. Barca manager Ronald Koeman is nothing but pleased with the forward’s form and confirmed that he will be an integral part of the team, especially in the most crucial games.

“Pedri has come from Las Palmas very young and is already playing games against teams like Madrid and Juventus, and doing so fantastically,” Koeman recently told Diario Sport.

“It is important for a club to have youngsters and for them to get chances,” he added. “You need to switch the team around little by little. You still need the older players but they won’t be around forever and you need to plan changes in good time, calmly. Pedri has earned his place in games because of his work in training. He has shown me what a good player he is and that he is able to play in a team like Barcelona.”

Barcelona center-back Clement Lenglet also admitted that Pedri is a cut above the rest of the team’s up-and-coming players. The 25-year-old is also convinced that Pedri and Messi have great chemistry inside the pitch.

“They are two good players, and good players understand each other well,” Lenglet said of Messi-Pedri team-up. “Pedri plays with his head, thinks faster than the rest and has a good connection with Messi because he’s also intelligent.”

As for Pedri, the teenager is looking to capitalize on the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

“He helps me a lot on the pitch, Messi is giving me a lot of advice and that is brilliant,” the youngster revealed last month. “We have to enjoy him and not get involved in his future, that is up to him, now is only about learning from him.”