Even as a young boy, it was clear Pedro Porro was cut from a different cloth. While others of his age were just learning the basics, he was already playing with a maturity and fire that made him stand out.
“Pedro had that winning gene. He was incredibly competitive," Carlos Moreno Garrido, one of his first youth coaches at C.A. Gimnastico, recalls.
"He had a kind of character that very few kids have at that age. I just knew he’d make it. He made the difficult look effortless.”
But Porro’s talent isn’t the only thing that has helped him on his journey. Behind the Tottenham Hotspur defender is a close-knit family whose love, sacrifices and support laid the foundation for his dreams which he shares in an emotional video (below).
“Back then, my parents had to work. It was my grandparents who raised me. I always tell my grandfather that he’s the reason I’ve made it this far” Porro says.
Leaving home
When Porro was just 14, he made the life-changing decision to leave his hometown of Don Benito and go 205 miles away to join Rayo Vallecano’s academy in Madrid, a three-hour drive from everything and everyone he knew in order to pursue his dream.
“I left when I was very young, and honestly, it was one of the toughest moments of my life,” he admits.
His mother, Eva Porro, still remembers the heart-wrenching goodbye.
“When we came back to Don Benito and reached the roundabout known as the ‘World’s Ball’, my husband stopped the car and we just broke down in tears.”
That separation, while painful, was the beginning of a long road towards Porro achieving his goal.
“If you want something, you have to be willing to sacrifice for it,” Porro says.
Years later, those sacrifices have paid off. Porro has played 80 times in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and also represents Spain at international level.
At the heart of his story is his grandfather, Antonio (above, right), who still feel so much pride every time they embrace.
“My greatest pride is when he hugs me. He’s always been my idol,” Antonio says, while revealing ”I cried so much that day," when recalling Porro make his Spurs debut in February 2023.
While Porro has achieved his dream of becoming a footballer, his love for the sport remains just as strong as it did when he was a child.
“Football is my life. Anyone who knows me knows that. My family knew it before anyone else. It’s always been everything to me.”
