Pedro Announces Retirement From Camp Nou: The First Player to Score in Six Competitions in One Season Says Goodbye

One of the heroes of Barcelona’s golden generation has returned to where the story began, but this time not to play, rather to announce the end of one of the most beautiful careers in the history of Spanish football.

A short video filmed at Camp Nou was enough to stir the emotions of Blaugrana fans, as its star decided to put the final full stop on a journey spanning more than two decades in which he lived almost everything.

The player is Spain’s Pedro Rodríguez, who announced on Wednesday his retirement from professional football at the age of 39 in a video posted on Instagram, around four months after his contract with Italian side Lazio expired.

“I feel the time has come. The time to take a step forward and begin a new chapter in my life,” Pedro said in his message, adding: “Thank you, football, for making me so happy.”

He continued: “Today I return to where it all began, to close a wonderful chapter,” stressing that “being part of the best Barça in history was a privilege,” and concluded: “I leave proud of having lived my dream and of all the people who were by my side to make it happen.”

Pedro arrived in Barcelona from Tenerife at the age of 17 to join the club’s academy, rising through the youth ranks and Barça B before making his first-team debut in the 2007-08 season, and he signed his first contract as a first-team player in the summer of 2009.

According to Barcelona’s official website, in the 2009-10 season Pedro became the first player to score in all six official competitions the team played in the same season: LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

One of his most memorable moments in a Barça shirt was his opening goal in the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28, 2011 against Manchester United, a match the Catalans won 3-1.

Pedro played 321 games for Barcelona, scoring 99 goals, and won five LaLiga titles, three Champions Leagues and three Copas del Rey, as well as the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain.

In the summer of 2015 he moved to Chelsea, where he won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League, before playing for Roma and then Lazio, where he made 209 appearances and scored 39 goals over five seasons. Speaking about Italy, he said: “Italy touched my heart. I arrived as a veteran and you treated me like a son.”

Barcelona will hold a farewell event for Pedro on Friday, October 9, at the Auditori 1899, starting at 11:30 CEST.