Las Palmas coach Pepe Mel says Real Madrid weren't decisive enough in the battle for Barcelona whizkid Pedri.

Mel worked with Pedri before he moved to Barcelona, and spoke about the midfielder ahead of Spain's Euro 2020 quarter-final against Switzerland in Saint-Petersburg on Friday evening.

"[Emiliano] Butragueno was interested in Pedri, in my opinion it was a mistake that Real Madrid didn't sign him," said Pepe Mel in an interview with A Diario on Friday.

"Taking a gamble on a player who has not played a single match in professional football is an act of faith."

Although Pedri has lit up the European Championship with a series of fine performances, Mel described comparisons between him and Andres Iniesta as unfair.

"You are comparing [Andres] Iniesta, who won the European Championship [in 2008 and 2012] and the World Cup [in 2010] and who played at Barcelona for many seasons, with a young man who has hardly played 50 matches in professional football," he said.