Barcelona have finalized the acquisition of Pedro Soma, a U.S. youth international, from the Catalan club Cornellá.
Born in Florida, Soma will start with the U19 squad under former Brazil international Juliano Belletti. He may also feature for Barça Atlètic, the club’s B team, which competes in Spain’s third division.
The 18-year-old midfielder adds to the increasing number of young American players at Barcelona, including goalkeeper Diego Kochen and midfielder Adrian Simon Gill.
Soma, originally from Boca Raton, Florida, moved to Barcelona in 2018. He began his football career locally before joining Cornellá’s first team in 2020. His performances in Spain have garnered him international attention, leading to appearances for the U.S. at various youth levels.
At last year’s U17 World Cup in Indonesia, he played three matches and captained the team in their round-of-16 loss to Germany.
Barcelona have been monitoring Soma’s development and officially announced his transfer from Cornellá on Thursday. Soma is already familiar with Kochen and Gill, fellow American youth internationals at the club.
Kochen, 18, served as a regular bench player for the first team last season and has made his senior debut in a friendly. He is anticipated to be the starting goalkeeper for the B team this season, as the club emphasizes playing time over first-team travel.
Gill, also 18, is recovering from a lengthy injury that sidelined him for most of last season.
