Pep Guardiola has revealed whether he expects Manchester City’s Ballon d’Or winning midfielder to remain an important part of the club.
Rodri has been a special player for Manchester City since he made the move from Atletico Madrid to the Premier League back in 2019.
The 29-year-old has won four top flight titles with his current club, as well as two League Cups, an FA Cup and of course, the UEFA Champions League in 2023.
This European triumph led to what might be the greatest moment in the Spaniard’s career, when he was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the very first time.
Pep Guardiola wants Rodri to remain at Manchester City
This summer marks seven years since Rodri arrived at the Etihad Stadium and there could come a stage when he decides to look for a new challenge.
However, Guardiola is keen on keeping the player who he believes has even more to offer as time goes on, due to his experience.
When asked if Rodri was still viewed as a cornerstone in Man City’s future, Guardiola responded: “I’d love that desperately. Rodri is Rodri; a player with as much age as he has, wisdom, understanding. There are players when they’re on the pitch, we feel better. That is experience.
“There are players defined in bigger stages, in difficulties, and Rodri is one. Like Bernie [Silva], Ruben [Dias], many I had in the past, Kevin [De Bruyne], [Ilkay] Gundo – sorry, a lot, don’t make me name one, it can feel bad.
“That defines the biggest teams in the biggest clubs. You cannot achieve what we achieved if you don’t have huge personalities. When you have Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues, you don’t win 5-0 every weekend. This is fairy tales, stories.”
Guardiola added: “I know people say, ‘How good was Man City?’ Man City was good, we won a lot 1-0, 0-1, playing rubbish, not good. But personalities there, how he handles these moments, deals with that, it comes from them and that’s why we had success”
Rodri’s Man City contract is expiring next summer
Although Guardiola wants to keep hold of Rodri, the length of time remaining on his contract gives him full control over his future.
If the Spanish international decides he wants to leave Man City, the club would have to look at selling him this summer in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer.
However, there is still time to convince Rodri that City is the right place for him and they should open talks about a new contract as soon as possible.
