Pedro: Hopefully I can return to Barcelona 'but I know it's hard'

See that headline?  Clickbait.  I'm pretty sure anyway.  But it's the headline everyone's going with following Pedro's interview with beIN Sports.  Not that exact headline obviously, but the same in principle.  "Pedro holds Barcelona talks", says Sky.  "Pedro 'wouldn't rule out' Barcelona return", says ESPN.  And then somebody had the bright idea to ask Jordi Alba, too, whether he'd like to play football with his "great friend" (that's Jordi's phrase, not the media's).

Yet I'm quite certain Pedro's not talking about his plans this summer.  He's talking about a few years down the line, to return to Barcelona so he can retire in their colors in the city he calls home.  Which is certainly understandable and is nothing less than we'd want for our legends as well.  Then again, just like in the cases of Lampard and Terry and Drogba and Čech, such circumstances can be hard to arrange.  Pedro knows this as well.

"Hopefully [I can return to Barcelona], I know it's difficult, I spoke with the president when we saw each other at the Cup final and I also spoke with all the people who love me there. It's complicated, but I've always said I would like to retire at Barca."

"The years have passed and Barca have some of the best players in the world, it's a very demanding club and coming back is complicated, but I can't rule it out. I spent 11 or 12 years in Barcelona, my family are there and a lot of my friends, as well. The fans love me a lot, I felt valued by the club, and it's always very tough to leave the club of your dreams. Ultimately, I had to make that decision because I saw that my chances had become exhausted."

-Pedro; source: beIN Sports

And here's what Jordi Alba, who apparently only has a very few good friends in football (awwww) thinks.

"He made ​​history with Barcelona and he is a great friend of mine. One of the few friends I have in football."

"Hopefully I can share many great moments with him. He has all the attributes to succeed with Barcelona, ​​hopefully he can come back. He left, but I think it is vital for the team to have him as a player."

-Pedro; source: FourFourTwo

Barcelona players have a long history of "tapping-up" friends and teammates and for all I know, this could be something along those lines as well.  Or maybe they're just being nice.  They certainly seemed to have done just fine without Pedro this past season.

As far as the winger's Chelsea future, he recently stated his happiness at Chelsea and his desire to achieve "something big" next season and make up for his first 12 months in SW6.