LONDON — Spain forward Pedro has agreed to join English Premier League champions Chelsea from Barcelona, the clubs said Thursday. Chelsea will pay 30 million euros ($33.54 million) for the player, the Spanish champions said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). The length of the contract was not revealed. “I am very happy to be here. I am very excited to start my adventure at Chelsea and I am here to keep winning titles,” Pedro told the club website (www.chelseafc.com). “Thanks to the club and the supporters for giving me the opportunity to put the blue shirt on.” A product of the Catalan club's youth academy, Tenerife-born Pedro made his debut for the Spanish and European champion in a La Liga match against Real Murcia in 2008. The pacy 28-year-old cemented his place in the first team under coach Pep Guardiola and in 2009 became the first player to score in six different competitions in a calendar year as Barca swept the Champions League, Spanish league and Cup, Spanish and European Super Cup and Club World Cup titles. Known as “Pedrito” for his diminutive size, he made his first appearance for Spain in a warm-up game for the 2010 World Cup against Saudi Arabia and went on to help La Roja claim their debut global crown in South Africa. He was also part of the successful Spain squad at Euro 2012 as Spain secured a second consecutive continental crown. Pedro no longer commanded a regular place in the Barca starting lineup following the arrival of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez last year. Coach Luis Enrique used him mainly as a substitute in 2014-15 and he came on in the Champions League final to set up Neymar to score the third goal in a 3-1 victory over Juventus. At Chelsea, he will join up with Spain colleagues Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta, as well as Cesc Fabregas, with whom he played at Barca between 2011 and 2014. Barca facing tough task Champion Barcelona begins its bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweight Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for its crown. Under new coach Rafa Benitez, Real is desperate to recover from a 2014-15 season when it failed to win major silverware and will be looking to FIFA Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo to break more scoring records and hoping world record signing Gareth Bale can rediscover his best form. Atletico Madrid proved it is genuine contender by winning Spain's top flight in 2013-14 and inspirational Argentine coach Diego Simeone has overseen some canny business in the latest transfer window, including luring Colombia striker Jackson Martinez from Porto. And it would be no great surprise if Valencia, flush with cash following last year's takeover by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, and Europa League champion Sevilla, which gave Barca a mighty scare in this month's European Super Cup, are in the mix at the top of the table come May. “In Spain we don't just have Barcelona,” Benitez told daily El Pais this week. — Agencies
