Pedro: I don’t regret leaving Barcelona for Chelsea

EXCLUSIVE

Pedro insists he has no regrets about leaving Barcelona for Chelsea and confirmed he will stay at Stamford Bridge next season.

Chelsea beat Manchester United to the £21m Spain international’s signature last August but he struggled in the first half of the campaign and there was speculation he would return to Spain this summer.

The 28-year-old, whose contract expires in 2019, told Standard Sport: “I am really happy here and have no regrets about the decision I made to join Chelsea.”

Chelsea finished outside the top six for the first time in 20 years and failed to compete for silverware.

Pedro added: “I am already looking forward to next season in terms of what we can achieve and putting the club back where it should be. Of course when you move away from your city there are certain things you will miss but, generally speaking, I am settled in this country.

“Is the best still to come from me? Absolutely. I always keep faith in myself and my abilities.

“I’m sure next season will be a great one for me and the club. I’m really looking forward to fighting for the Premier League, which will be a dream for me.”

Next season will also be the first time since 1996-7 that the club won't be playing in European competition.

But Pedro feels the disappointment will inspire everyone at the club to make sure they only spend one year out of Europe's premier club competition.

He added: "It was a real disappointment to be eliminated from the Champions League. I thought we played well in the competition and so we ended up being a bit angry that we didn't go further.

"This gives us motivation for the coming season. We will fight in the League to get back in the Champions League for the following year and be among the top teams in Europe again.

"Has the Champions League been hard to watch since Chelsea went out? Yes. But there are always great teams in the Champions League so even if there are clubs I'd prefer to be there, like Barcelona or Chelsea, I will still tune in to see who wins the final (between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid)."

Pedro (left) is supporting the Chelsea Foundation’s Asian Star initiative. Now in its eighth year, the ground-breaking event gives a much-needed boost to Asian participation at all levels of the game. Asian Star returns on May 30 at the club’s Cobham training ground, with applications for players aged 9-12 now open at chelseafc.com/asianstar