United target Pedro tells Barcelona he wants move

The Spaniard, who started his career in the youth ranks at Barcelona and played for the club’s senior side in the 2003/04 season, took to Twitter to write: “Pedro is not going anywhere….”

Despite the imminent setback, the Red Devils remain firm in completing a deal to land Pedro, who has a release clause of €30 million (AU$44.9 million), with United boss Louis Van Gaal keen to have the Spanish global registered before the club’s game against Aston Villa on Friday.

Pedro has expressed his frustration at his lack of playing time at the Nou Camp, where he is fourth choice behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

With Barca due to take on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday – which Neymar will miss due to contracting mumps – Luis Enrique says speculation surrounding Pedro’s potential move makes no difference to his decision making. “He’s the best football player in the history”, Rakitic said.

“I would like to keep all my players through the whole season”.

“We’d practically closed the match, but it’s very hard to secure this”, he said.

Barcelona added the UEFA Super Cup to their treble win of trophies last season despite blowing a 4-1 lead with a stunning 5-4 win over Sevilla thanks to Pedro Rodriguez’s extra time victor.

Europa League champions Sevilla sprung an early surprise in Tbilisi as Ever Banega’s free-kick gave them a third-minute lead, but Barca swiftly turned things, with Messi netting two delightful free-kicks of his own in the seventh and 16th minutes.

Rafinha slotted home a Luis Suarez pass just before the break and the Uruguayan scored himself after the restart having been found by Sergio Busquets to put Barca firmly in command. We’re really happy about the trophy, for ourselves, the players and supporters. “We had clear chances at the end and Barca were looking anxious”.