Filipino footballer Pedro Fernandez makes historic first-team debut with FC Barcelona

Filipino-Spanish footballer Pedro Fernandez became the second Filipino to play for FC Barcelona’s first team after his debut in their 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Monday, Sept. 29.

Manager Hansi Flick gave Fernandez the starting nod after Raphinha sat out with a hamstring injury. In doing so, Fernandez became the youngest player to play in La Liga this season at 17 years and 259 days old.

He also became the second Filipino to play for Barca after Iloilo native Paulino Alcantara, who became the club’s top goalscorer before being overtaken by Lionel Messi.

Fernandez came off in the 46th minute for Dani Olmo and finished the game with a 6.6 rating according to Sofascore after completing 24 passes and creating two chances.

Barcelona remained unbeaten and improved to 19 points to go above rivals Real Madrid atop the standings.

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Pedro Fernández (Dro) vs Real Sociedad

LaLiga Debut ✨pic.twitter.com/UWCSCtQvWR

— Dubbu (@Dubbu01) September 28, 2025

In a preseason game against Vissel Kobe last July, Fernandez came on for newly signed Marcus Rashford in the 79th minute and scored a goal just eight minutes later to help the Catalan squad grab a 3-1 victory.

Born in Galicia, Spain, Fernandez is the son of a Spanish father and a Filipina mother and holds dual citizenship of Spain and the Philippines.

The midfielder got his start at a local club in his hometown of Galicia before being recruited to Barcelona’s historic youth academy La Masia in 2022. He then appeared 38 times in Barcelona’s youth team, scoring seven goals across all competitions.

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