Las Palmas coach Pepe Mel admits he urged Real Betis to sign Pedri ahead of Barcelona.

Mel spent several years at Betis, first as a player and then on the bench, and he hoped that Pedri may have ended up wearing the famous green-and-white stripes.

"I told [Jose Miguel Lopez] Catalan and [Angel] Haro before Ruben Castro's testimonial to take a chance on this kid, who was going to go to Barcelona," Mel said.

"I understood they were after Alex [Moreno], Borja [Iglesias]... it was difficult to look at a 16-year-old boy.

"I'm a Betis fan and I would never hurt Betis."

Despite Betis not going after Pedri, the 57-year-old has high hopes for the playmaker.

"This boy is a superstar and he is going to be big in European football for the next 10 years," Mel noted.

"He was signed by Barcelona and now we will see what happens."