Pedro, who recently retired, gave an in-depth interview to Mundo Deportivo. In the second part of the interview, Pedro reminisced about the difficult early days at La Masia, admitting he had cried countless times and begged his father to bring him home. He also recalled being called up to Barcelona's first team at the last minute and his unforgettable debut under Frank Rijkaard.

Journalist: Before looking ahead to the future, let's go back to the beginning. When you look back at yourself as an inexperienced young player just starting out, and compare that to the glorious career you eventually achieved, what comes to mind?

Pedro: Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is all the sweat I poured out to change my destiny, and the difficult periods I went through during that specific phase when I first arrived. Those days were truly harsh and extremely difficult—nothing easy or romantic as outsiders might imagine. A kid from a distant island, from a small club, suddenly arriving in a big city like Barcelona, and in the academy, you have to compete with top talents, unique and amazing players from all over the world, and suddenly you find yourself among them. At first, the language was also a barrier; Catalan was quite difficult for me, especially in my studies. The entire adaptation phase was a huge challenge for me. Life back in Tenerife was comfortable and free; I spent most of my time playing football on the streets with friends. But at La Masia, there were extremely strict rules: early bedtimes, regular schedules, serious studying, and healthy eating.

All of this initially made me very uncomfortable. When you're deeply rooted in your homeland and old habits, and suddenly lose everything—no family, no siblings, no old friends around—the sense of loss is enormous. Although they visited me frequently, everyone was still young and didn't have enough money to travel often or stay in hotels, so staying in touch became very difficult. It was an extremely grueling and painful period; being without family nearby was the hardest time of my life. I remember crying many times back then. My father always encouraged and supported me from afar. He told me: "Don't worry, everyone goes through this phase, keep working hard—this is your only chance in life." He was completely right. I knew this was my only opportunity to join a big club like Barcelona and take control of my own destiny. So I trained extremely hard. Looking back now, the deepest feeling in my mind is that all the sacrifices and effort I put in back then finally bore fruit and were rewarded fairly. All the sweat and hard work I invested at the beginning were completely repaid throughout my later career.

Journalist: Andrés Iniesta has admitted several times that he considered packing his bags and going back home to Albacete. Did you ever have similar thoughts?

Pedro: Countless times. I called my father so many times, begging him to come pick me up, crying that I didn't want to stay there anymore. Not because of poor conditions; quite the opposite—it had the best facilities and amenities in the world. You're at the best football club in the world, with a carefully planned schedule and diet, and all the support is top-notch. It wasn't about objective conditions, but as I said, when you're a child, being away from home is incredibly cruel. You lose the basic, essential details of life, like sitting on a stone bench chatting with friends while snacking on sunflower seeds, playing football at the sports center for ten hours straight until your feet hurt and you can't run anymore, or surfing and swimming at the beach with friends in the morning. All those everyday moments that come with growing up disappear. It's like a chapter of the world you've lived in for years suddenly gets torn out, and you're thrust into the next one. If you can't adapt quickly, negative emotions like depression, discomfort, and crying flare up, along with language barriers and academic pressure. All of that was unbearable at the time. But today, looking back, I can say it was all worth it; those bitter tears sown back then led to an abundant harvest later.

Journalist: Finally, the day came when Rijkaard noticed you and gave you your first-team debut in an away match against Murcia. What did he say to you at that moment? What was that moment like?

Pedro: I remember being called up to the squad at the last minute. Actually, I didn't have much direct contact with him before that. Santi Ezquerro suddenly came down with gastroenteritis and couldn't play, so I was purely a last-minute substitute. It was actually Guardiola who called me and said: "Go get changed and be ready, you've been called up to the first team." When I heard the words "first team" with my own ears, I was stunned, thinking: "Is this real?" You just can't believe it. It hit me deeply. First, I was being given preference over my academy teammates at that time; second, you're suddenly being pushed onto a dream stage.

You've imagined that scene countless times in your dreams, but when you actually walk into the hotel training ground in the first-team kit, sitting alongside the entire star-studded squad, under the direction of Frank Rijkaard—who was at that time a legendary coach who had won everything—you can't help but feel your heart racing: "How am I even here?" You just sit there, unable to believe it. It was truly a wonderful and unique moment. I remember calling my parents immediately; at that time, no one could believe it. My father even gathered everyone in the village at his house to watch the match on live television, just to see me on the bench. It was incredible. And what was even more unimaginable was that I later got the chance to come on as a substitute and play a few minutes in front of the home fans at Camp Nou. That meant the world to me.

From the moment I stepped onto the pitch, the support from the fans was amazing. Every touch, every run was met with thunderous applause. That feeling was unbelievable. It was an incredibly beautiful moment in my career, and even now it feels like yesterday, even though twenty years have passed. It's truly indescribable.

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