Pedri has been honoured in his hometown of Tegueste in recognition of his part in Spain’s silver medal winning team at the Tokyo Olympics After playing the first 62 minutes of the 1-1 draw in Bilbao where he is taking a fortnight off after a nonstop year in which he played 73 games for Barça and the Spanish Euro 2020 and Olympic teams In a special event put on by the local council at the Teatro Príncipe Felipe by his family and former playing colleagues from the islands and where words were spoken by the local mayoress Ani Mena and the councillor for sport Pedri responded the hearty applause by saying “I am very proud to be from Tegueste."  The player was presented with a commemorative plaque for being the first Olympic medallist from the town together with his first ever Tegueste playing strip and his first membership card of the local football federation "I want to keep furthering my football career” said the player although by biggest dream is to win the Champions League.”  © 2025 EmCan Media - Hosted By canaryfone A deeply disturbing incident has shaken the town of Tegueste in Tenerife after a family returned home to find the severed head of their dog which has sparked outrage both locally and nationally has been reported to the authorities and is now under investigation a well-known voice for animal welfare in the Canary Islands shared the harrowing images on social media at the request of the family who hope to raise awareness and ensure that the person responsible “faces the consequences.” “This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve seen in all my years of fighting for animal rights,” Gil said “Imagine coming home and finding your dog’s head at the door devastated by the loss of their pet and the cruel nature of the act They made the difficult decision to make the images public hoping they would reach a wider audience and put pressure on the authorities to act swiftly Gil expressed his frustration and sadness over ongoing animal cruelty in the Canary Islands I don't even know what to say any more about the atrocities being committed against animals in these islands.” The case has triggered a wave of condemnation on social media with animal welfare groups calling for stronger laws and harsher penalties for acts of cruelty Investigations are ongoing as police work to identify and locate the person responsible for this macabre crime The public is also asked to share any information that may be useful to the investigation Please click to see the images on Instagram if you want to see them A post shared by Cristo Gil (@cristogill) It’s Saturday lunchtime at the Tasca Fernando restaurant in Tegueste and there’s only one table free.   “You might like to try Las Croquetas de Pedri,” says Jose Luis Gonzalez guiding The Athletic to a seat past busy diners “They’re made with tuna — they’ve always been his favourites.” Pedri’s uncle comes across as proper and slightly reserved but he’s soon friendly and smiling as he explains how his father Fernando and mother Candelaria opened this place in 1972 On the wall by the door hang family photos going all the way back through five decades some showing Fernando exuding a huge presence with his beaming smile Jose Luis says his father was known in the village as ‘El Catalan’ Fernando founded the Pena Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste the first official Barcelona supporters club on this largest in the Canary Islands off the coast of north west Africa and a a two-plus hour flight from the Spanish mainland Tegueste had always been more of a Real Madrid town and back then already had an official supporters club for Barcelona’s great rivals Asked to explain why his family went the other way The family’s force of personality brought more and more people to their side One of those photos on the wall is of Fernando senior and his two sons (Jose Luiz and Fernando junior) with then-Barcelona defender (and one day head coach) Ronald Koeman in the late 1990s Another shows Candelaria meeting Joan Laporta who was in Tegueste for an official visit during his first presidential term in the early 2000s was himself a promising player in his youth — a goalkeeper who almost joined a club in the neighbouring town But Fernando senior’s death in 2005 meant he took over the bar Fernando junior made it to Paris to see Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 to win the Champions League just as his dad had been at Wembley in 1992 when they defeated Sampdoria — Koeman scored the only goal Pep Guardiola was in the starting XI — to lift the club’s first European Cup More recent photos on the walls track Pedri’s career then making his Segunda Division debut for Las Palmas from the next-door island of Gran Canaria at age 16 and making his senior Spain debut a few months after that The food at Tasca Fernando is tasty and filling although the deep-fried crunch of Pedri’s favourite croquetas would make most modern sports nutritionists scream Jose Luis says the kid didn’t like Fanta or Coca-Cola growing up and regularly got under the feet of their father and uncle as they carried plates to the diners’ tables Did the future professional ever serve customers himself their parents spend more and more time there with his sisters Rosi and Montse also involved Pedri: The island boy with the world at his feet Pedri’s fame means the Tasca gets regular visitors from all over There were Argentinians in the other day and Australians a few weeks ago But the majority of its business still comes from local families who have eaten here for decades The Athletic’s accommodation for this visit was close by Her father and Pedri’s granddad Fernando were close friends Lola tells the story (surely not for the first time) of Fernando flying to a game at the Camp Nou He had a changeover at Barajas airport in the Spanish capital to get to Barcelona so used a wheelchair to move between planes The story begs the question of what Fernando would have thought had he been around when Pedri had a trial at Real Madrid in February 2018 Despite his family’s Barcelona allegiances the 15-year-old would have joined their biggest rivals if offered He had the determination to succeed — another firm family trait Pedri did not impress Madrid’s coaching staff Tegueste sits in the north west of the island and a million miles from any typical touristy image of Tenerife The town makes its living mostly from agriculture — the lush green hills are striped with vine terraces and dotted with orange and lemon groves Above are the terrifically irregular verdant ridges of the protected Anaga Rural Park with its tall Canarian palm trees and prickly cactus plants cave-filled Barranco de Agua de Dios ravine Such natural benefits made Tegueste a stronghold of the native Guanche people before Spanish conquistadores arrived within a few years of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic This heritage bequeathed a sporting legacy in the ‘Lucha Canaria’ wrestling for which the town is still renowned this Saturday was the annual Carnaval procession — with residents of all ages dressed as pirates and lots of drumming and communal merriment Such festivals were never really Pedri’s thing “He was not interested in parties or anything like that There is an echo today as some kids are ignoring the procession and instead kicking a ball around on the San Marcos Square in front of a church built with the area’s volcanic grey-black stone The square also now recalls a different member of Pedri’s family as on the corner by the town hall stands a statue of Antonio Gonzalez and playing alongside Fernan for Club Deportivo Aliron Futbol Base Tegueste’s (CDAFB Tegueste) ‘Alevin’ under-11s the current CDAFB Tegueste youth teams were playing at their Ciudad Deportiva los Laureles club vice-president Benito Perez explained to The Athletic that they have teams at all youth levels 90 per cent of whom come from Tegueste itself The village of around 11,000 inhabitants is a tremendously fertile breeding ground for professional footballers current Elche midfielder Omar Mascarell and Real Valladolid reserve goalkeeper Samuel Perez all played their first organised games for CDAFB Tegueste Mascarell has been back to run a summer campus for the town’s kids Pedri’s most recent visit was in June last year when he oversaw the installation of a water dispenser provided by the Kick Out Plastic foundation CDAFB Tegueste got some FIFA development money when Pedri joined Barcelona from Las Palmas in 2020 but club secretary Lina Uhia tells The Athletic they are self-sufficient and raise their own money We take the hint and buy a ticket for €4 (£3.50 $4.30) to see the senior side’s Primera Regional game against Atletico Restinga come from 1-0 down at half-time to win 2-1 and Tegueste are unlikely to be promoted this season Pedri and his family are more interested in Barcelona He himself is more interested in his village club “We’ll probably watch the Clasico at home,” he says when asked about his thoughts on that night’s big La Liga game at Camp Nou A teardrop emoji sent to The Athletic on Friday confirmed that Pedri was going to miss Sunday’s Clasico with a hamstring issue Jose Luis was phlegmatic about the situation on the eve of the game saying he was sure his 20-year-old nephew would be back soon An hour before kick-off, friend of the family Oscar Ledezma welcomes The Athletic to the Pena Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste’s ‘local’ social club. The size of so many small Spanish bars, it mostly only opens for Barca games — and Spain ones now too. Just like at Camp Nou these days, fans of other teams are not really welcome Ledezma says Tegueste’s Real Madrid supporters usually gather in a bar near the church The place is like a little Barcelona museum books and badges document the club’s last few decades There is a very cute photo of a seven-year-old Pedri and nine-year-old Fernan with the La Liga Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies which were all brought to Tegueste the summer after Guardiola-coached Barca won the treble in 2009 being welcomed to town by Pedri’s dad Fernando and the town’s then-mayor More pictures show a young Pedri meeting each of Txiki Begiristain Another has him aged maybe 10 and curled up in his seat and had started playing in Spain’s second tier for Las Palmas he flew back here to watch every Barca game he could Ledezma says that the COVID-19 pandemic hit membership of the pena especially the older fans who were contemporaries of Fernando senior But his grandson’s emergence as a superstar has energised everything Along with selling drinks and sandwiches at each game It also helps that the owner of this building is a Barcelona fan What does Pedri's injury mean for Barcelona before a crucial run of games The older fans have their own seats by a TV near the door while most of us face a big projector screen in rows of nice It quickly gets loud as Robert Lewandowski Raphinha and Sergi Roberto all go close to scoring “We had no shots in the Copa game at the Bernabeu and now three already,” The Athletic hears There is total silence when Vinicius Junior’s cross hits Ronald Araujo’s head and ends up in the net Then a Spanish oath involving milk is uttered There are grumbles for a Raphinha bad touch when it seems the Brazilian is in on goal but the goal knocked us back,” is overheard There is a loud clang as someone kicks the bar when an Andreas Christensen header flashes wide The atmosphere is turning increasingly anxious especially whenever Vinicius Jr gets the ball “Madre mia,” someone shouts as a Barcelona passing move goes all the way back to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen Everyone leaps off their feet when Sergi Roberto equalises just before half-time Fifty people in a small space can generate a surprising amount of noise we had the better chances,” says the barman as The Athletic gets in a round of €1 bottles of beer The younger fans gather around the ‘futbolin’ table during the 15-minute break The lines of wooden players seem to be clad in Barca vs Madrid colours but the kids point out that those in white all have former Blaugrana players’ names hand-written on their backs ‘Koeman’ scores a characteristic long-range cracker as his team win The lights go off again as the second half starts but it is always good to beat Madrid,” says Ledezma as the Barcelona club captain’s mistake almost lets in Rodrygo to score mi madre,” sighs someone else as Lewandowski volleys a chance into the crowd Gloom falls when Marco Asensio nets after a Madrid counter-attack people start to realise he might have been offside sharing the nerves of his people from his vantage point at Camp Nou a reference to Barcelona having paid millions to the former vice-president of Spanish football’s referee’s committee It brings an equal amount of grins and grimaces Barcelona charged with corruption over payments to former referees chief The tension is back as the game enters added time, with lots of frustration about Barcelona’s inability to keep the ball. But suddenly they put together an excellent move, and substitute Franck Kessie fires home a winner that puts them 12 points clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga “And we’d all been having a go at Kessie!,” says somebody A fan named Andres has won the jackpot for correctly predicting the final score He takes another bottle of beer to celebrate and donates the rest of the winnings back into the pot now to knock ’em out of the Copa too,” says Ledezma as he bids goodbye to The Athletic at the door looking forward to the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg back at Camp Nou in two weeks Dermot joined The Athletic in 2020 and has been our main La Liga Correspondent up until now. Irish-born, he has spent more than a decade living in Madrid and writing about Spanish football for ESPN, the UK Independent and the Irish Examiner. Follow Dermot on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan The Guardia Civil has identified and detained the suspected perpetrator behind the gruesome killing of a dog in Tegueste The man is currently under investigation for a serious offence of animal cruelty the authorities have confirmed this afternoon (Friday) The case began after the dog’s owner filed a formal complaint upon discovering the severed head of his pet left on the doorstep of his home The disturbing act has shocked the local community and triggered an immediate response from the police the investigation was carried out with crucial support from officers at the Tacoronte station and members of SEPRONA Through a coordinated effort to collect evidence and conduct technical analyses they were able to locate the dog’s body and gather sufficient proof to identify and investigate the suspect The findings of this investigation have been submitted to the duty court in San Cristóbal de La Laguna Under Article 340 of the Spanish Penal Code individuals found guilty of causing the death of a domestic or tamed animal can face prison sentences ranging from 12 to 24 months those convicted may receive a special disqualification of two to four years from working in any profession The case has reignited public concern around animal welfare and the enforcement of stricter measures to prevent such acts of cruelty in the future The 18-year-old - who placed fourth on Goal’s NXGN list of the world’s top teenage footballers in March - has been La Liga’s breakout star of 2020-21 leaving Spain coach Luis Enrique no option but to call him up for Euro 2020 The question has slowly morphed into if he will start for Spain this summer rather than if he would merely make the cut Few imagined such a scenario at the start of the season when he made his debut for second division side UD Las Palmas at 16 even though he conducts himself with startling maturity Pedri has 52 Barcelona appearances under his belt in his debut season with the Catalan giants forming a thrilling partnership with Lionel Messi The pair share a near-telepathic connection and it is Pedri’s potential that could yet convince the Argentine to stay at Camp Nou The Pedri story started a long way from Camp Nou even if his playing style is uncut La Masia He emerged far closer to the west coast of Africa the Spanish archipelago 2,500 kilometres away from Barcelona a town of around 11,000 people on the island of Tenerife according to his teachers at the Maria del Carmen Fernandez Melian school He would take football seriously in the playground his sights set on the top from an early age who host a ‘peña’ - fan club - in Tegueste Once a skinny child who might get an earful for kicking a ball around inside the establishment with his brother He would watch another Pedro turn out for Barcelona making his mark on the wing as they won the sextuple in 2009 under Guardiola although stylistically Andres Iniesta is Pedri’s blueprint showed him videos of Michael Laudrup and fed him off dinner plates bearing the Barca badge or even his shadow,” he told El Periodico going on to run the cafe after its founder Pedri joined local side Juventud Laguna in 2015 from a youth football academy and was head and shoulders above the rest Juventud coach Ayoze Hernandez coached Pedri for the final year before he joined Las Palmas in 2018 🎭 @Pedri putting on a show pic.twitter.com/8iit7DYt6Q That work ethic has stood him in good stead at Barcelona where he played every single La Liga game until the final week of the season when coach Ronald Koeman gave him a rest ahead of the Euros At Juventud there was a pre-season exercise where Pedri’s group were taken to a nearby mountain An all-terrain car was used to mark the way and Pedri followed it for the full seven kilometres Las Palmas snapped him up in May 2018 for their U18s side but not before he spent a week on trial at Real Madrid in February There was tremendous snowfall which disrupted the Spanish capital with not even the Blancos’ first team able to train Pedri was stuck in his hotel for two days of his trial but was able to step out onto the training pitches twice Las Palmas coach Pepe Mel observed Pedri and decided to promote him to the first team in July 2019 that only Pedri could resolve,” Mel tells Goal “Could he do what he did against kids with professionals We brought him to Marbella for pre-season and saw our doubt was wrong he didn’t care who he was playing with Madrid did not heed Mel’s advice and Barca struck Pedri was only ever going to pick his family club Las Palmas were in financial difficulty and Barca signed Pedri for just €5 million (£4m/$5.5m) in September 2019; with clauses meaning that fee could eventually arrive at €30m (£26m/$37m) This happened while trying to integrate into a dressing room full of seasoned pros at 16 “I was sh*tting myself,” Pedri admitted to Tiempo de Canarias It was Aythami who came over and told me to talk to him if I needed anything was his de facto ‘godfather’ in the dressing room Pedri still had a full season with Las Palmas ahead of him his impending switch to Camp Nou was no distraction Anyone who knows him insists part of the reason Pedri has taken each new step upwards naturally is due to his upbringing he played more minutes than any other outfield Las Palmas player (2,833 across 36 games) while becoming the youngest scorer in their history with flawless technique but also an engine.  Pedri was just doing what he had at Juventud “He’ll go to play in his park and that’s the big virtue that he has,” Aythami affirms Pedri's a gem. 💎 pic.twitter.com/2ztZjD98sh but Barcelona coach Koeman decided otherwise Mel advised whoever got the Barcelona job to keep Pedri close by but Koeman liked what he saw in pre-season and Pedri made his first appearance against Villarreal in a 4-0 win on September 27 Barcelona’s first game of the campaign His rapid ascension to the first-team squad even took the club by surprise They had not organised a car to take him to the stadium and he arrived at Camp Nou for some early games in the taxi of a family friend was high enough to hand him a start in El Clasico on October 24 but Pedri was sublime in a 2-0 win at Juventus that steadied the ship sliding home at the back post to seal a 5-2 rout of Real Betis and with more nouse could be touching double figures instead of matching his tally of four from last season One player who does know a thing or two about finishing is Kylian Mbappe and he made sure to swap shirts with Pedri after Paris Saint-Germain knocked Barca out of the Champions League in March Pedri was able to lift his first trophy before the season was out as Barcelona demolished Athletic Club to win the Copa del Rey in April.  who scored the goal that won Spain their first World Cup in 2010 he has also made it to a major international tournament with La Roja.  Pedri has been ‘quemando etapas’ - burning through stages is a little restaurant called Tasca Fernando standing with Barcelona’s former vice president sits on the wall alongside newspaper cuttings of the club’s successes That is because the 18-year-old midfielder Fernando González and his friends from the local Barcelona peña (fan club) gather in Tasca Fernando to cheer on Tegueste’s most famous sporting export When he stepped out onto the parched grass of La Cartuja is a Spanish professional footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team The Spanish international grew up in a football-loving family and his passion for the sport was evident from a young age He began playing football at the age of six joining the youth academy of CD San Isidro After impressing with his skills and technical ability a professional club based in the Canary Islands He joined the club's youth academy in 2018 and quickly made a name for himself as one of the most promising young talents in Spanish football The midfield magician made his professional debut for UD Las Palmas in the 2019-2020 season and quickly established himself as a key player in the team His impressive performances caught the attention of several top clubs in Europe His debut season at FC Barcelona was nothing short of spectacular he quickly established himself as one of the most talented and influential players in the team He played in 52 matches across all competitions scoring three goals and providing six assists and played a crucial role in the team's success in winning the Copa del Rey and reaching the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League The wonderkid's style of play is characterized by his technical ability He has been compared to some of the greatest midfielders in Spanish football history including Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández due to his ability to control the tempo of the game and create scoring opportunities for his teammates He is also known for his work ethic and his willingness to track back and defend making him a valuable asset for his team both in attack and defense Pedri's impressive performances at FC Barcelona have earned him several accolades and awards He was named as the Best Young Player at the Euro 2020 tournament where he played a key role in helping the Spanish national team reach the semi-finals He was also named the Best Midfielder in the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League season and was included in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season he is known for his humble and down-to-earth personality He has spoken about the importance of his family and the role they have played in his success and often attributes his achievements to hard work and dedication He is also an active supporter of charitable causes and has been involved in several initiatives aimed at helping underprivileged children in the Canary Islands The generational talent is a young and immensely talented footballer who has quickly established himself as one of the most promising players in the sport and vision have earned him several accolades and awards and he is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young players to watch in the years to come Pedri has the potential to become one of the greatest midfielders in football history Here are 13 fun facts about Pedri you need to know... AENA the public management company of Spain’s airports in the follow-up meeting of the Acoustic Insulation Plan of the progress made in soundproofing buildings around the Tenerife North Airport which is situated in the municipality of La Laguna They reported that 977 homes have been completed with full acoustic insulation installations budgets have been approved for the completion of works in 124 buildings and to begin new actions in another 120 after the mandatory agreement of those involved representatives of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) the Council of Tenerife and the municipalities of La Laguna and Tegueste such as the inclusion in the Acoustic Insulation Plan of 40 new homes that have proven that they meet the requirements and in which the acoustic measurements and the request of another 26 will be carried out pending submission of all the documentation They also reported the finding in 33 more homes the need to carry out the relevant soundproofing actions which complies with the completion of the corresponding projects and budgets The Acoustic Plan aims to minimize the inconvenience for neighbours of the airport by the noise produced by aircraft in their take-off The current census of properties included in the Noise Isolation Plan of the Tenerife North Airport/La Laguna City is 2,445 buildings 2,200 corresponding to San Cristóbal de La Laguna a total of 1,476 requests have been received so AENA highlights that there is still a significant number of residents who having the right to request this type of action If you fall in to this category and want more information or to apply, please contact the AENA Noise Insulation Plans Management Office at 915 903 170 or email: office.paa@ineco.com