Ex-Barça SD Ramon Planes reveals the secrets of Pedri signing

Former Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes spoke to Radio Marca about how he managed to sign Pedri for the Catalan club.

Planes touched on many issues, from the potential cost of the transfer from Las Palmas to the fear that another Marcos Asensio situation would occur and the midfielder would end up at Real Madrid.

Here's what he said:

Cost of the deal: I don't like to give numbers, but based on what I know, I don't think it will reach 20 million euros, even if all the variables are met.

Asensio fear: I was working for Tottenham and after a Mallorca-Zaragoza game I left dazzled by one player, Marco Asensio. What happened, happened because football moves so quickly. I feared the same would happen with Pedri, that they would beat us to him.

The deal: It was a difficult option, the fact he could play one more year at Las Palmas was an important element and good for everyone, also for Pedri himself. With the add-ons, it's been a good sale for Las Palmas. Pedri pressed to have out offer accepted because of his affection for Barça.

Koeman: I have a good relationship with him and I spoke to him about (Pedri). He always had him in mind. We thought it might have been difficult for him to stay (with the first team) because there were a lot of loan offers. Well, Koeman only needed two training sessions to see how good he was and he wanted him to stay whatever.

Bayern interest: It surprised me that Bayern had real and formal interest in Pedri without having hardly seen him. It's a clear demonstration that in their scouting department they're doing things really well. They let us know of their interest two days after the 8-2 in Lisbon. We told them there was no chance.

Xavi says he's best in the world in his position: I agree. Xavi and Iniesta were top-level players, but Pedri's performances are incredible for his age and he has a gigantic future ahead of him. His football intelligence is within the reach of very few players.