We used to sing “he’s won it all” at Gary Cahill last season, but his trophy haul palls into insignificance when you look round Pedro’s trophy cabinet.
The Spaniard has won it all and then some! Five La Liga titles and three Champions League successes at his boyhood club Barcelona, followed by a Premier League win in 2017, FA Cup in 2018 and the UEFA Europa League win last season during his 4 year Chelsea career.
And that’s just at club level, internationally Pedro has one World Cup and one European Championship winners medals.
There’ll be some stories to tell the grandkids when Pedro has retired.
Pedro is the kind of player every top club needs, not a starter, but somebody who you can rely on to always give 100% and occasionally provide a piece of magic.
With Chelsea currently going all guns blazing, with seven wins from the last seven games across all competitions, Pedro has become a forgotten man.
The focus is fully on the returning Callum Hudson-Odoi and “captain America” Christian Pulisic. Their performances have been the ones grabbing the headlines, and rightly so, but you can’t help but feel that Lampard’s party bus has left Pedro at the station.
Pedro has only had 7 appearances this term, even when Hudson-Odoi was injured and Pulisic found himself out of the spotlight, Lampard preferred Mason Mount on the left hand side rather than Pedro.
The winger was heavily relied on last year by Maurizio Sarri, often rotating the starting spot with Willian.
This season, Pedro is fifth choice, and the likelihood of him reaching the kind of figures he posted so far in his Chelsea career are slim.
Pedro’s league appearances
2015-2016 29 (7 goals)
2016-2017 35 (9 goals)
2017-2018 31 (4 goals)
2018-2019 31 (8 goals)
And it’s really through no fault of Pedro that he’s not got into the side. He had a decent pre-season which included one of the best goals ever seen, but since the season has started, his younger team mates have held their own.
Mason Mount might have been utilised out of his most natural position but he still provided for the team and put in the effort to press that Lampard craves.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has hit the ground running on return from injury, providing assists for his team mates, the only thing missing for him is a goal.
And Pulisic came of age at Turf Moor with his perfect hat-trick. Lampard has been on his case, challenging him to be better.
The Amercian took that advise on board, worked hard, and took his opportunity when it arose. His man of the match performance at Burnley was clear enough evidence that this guy is more than a tool to milk the American audience.
And even Willian has emerged from the shadow of Eden Hazard and started to produce the level of performance that we all knew was there, even if it’s been inconsistent in its appearances.
And then there’s Pedro, smiling little Pedro, looking as though his time at an elite club has finally come to an end.
At 32 he’s heading into the twilight of his career and his last contribution to Chelsea might be off the pitch, using his wealth of experience to help the likes of Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic continue their assent to the top of world football.
I’m sure they could only dream of matching Pedro’s achievements.
As squad players go, there’s been none better than our little Spaniard and the club will miss his presence when he’s gone.
One thing for certain is that in Chelsea he’s found a home and if the club is looking to rename the Spackman entrance at Stamford Bridge then they should consider ‘Pedro’s’.
Got a nice ring to it.
There’s still a long way to go this season and we haven’t seen the last of Pedro yet, but his contribution to Chelsea Football Club should not be over looked.
Oh Pedro Rodriguez, oh Pedro Rodriguez
Dean is the author of ‘Cult Fiction- how a year under Sarri almost tore Chelsea apart’ available on Amazon now amzn.to/2T7v5Tu
