England is ready to rock! This Sunday, March 31, is the clash of this 30th day of the Premier League, pitting Manchester City, third (63pts) against Arsenal, leader (64pts). A shock scheduled at 5:30 p.m. and broadcast on Canal.
Absent during the first leg (due to suspension, Editor’s note) won 1-0 by Arsenal, Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri could well change the situation. And for good reason, the Skyblues are unbeatable (or almost) when number 16 is established. Pep Guardiola’s team has lost only once this season in the presence of his metronome. A defeat occurred on penalties during the Community Shield final, on August 6, 2023 at Wembley against… Arsenal (1-1, 4 tab to 1).
Discreet, the speeches of the native of Madrid, in front of the press, are quite rare. He prefers to use football as a means of expression. On the pitch, the demonstration of his talent is constant and it is not his coach, Pep Guardiola, who will say the opposite. “There are no words to describe its impact,” he declared on March 11, 2023 at a press conference. Since his arrival in the summer of 2019, for 70 million euros from Atlético Madrid, Rodri, whose full name is Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, has taken on another dimension and changed status.
Installed at the start in the midfielder rotation, he was able to stand out and establish himself as a starter within the club, located to the east of Manchester, until becoming an indispensable element. With more than 3,200 minutes played this season, in 45 matches (he played 37 following two suspensions, Editor’s note), the Spaniard is one of the players most used by his coach, Pep Guardiola. Ahead of him are Phil Foden and his 18 goals, as well as Skyblues captain Kyle Walker.
Vision of the game, vision, quality of passes… there are many qualities that can be associated with the player playing in the jersey in the shorts. A complete palette to which was added the finishing in front of goal. The defensive midfielder is finding the net more and more. Nets, which he was the only one to shake on June 10, in Istanbul, in the Champions League final against the Italian club Inter Milan (1-0). A goal allowing Manchester City to win their first European title after the failure of 2021.
As an individual reward, in addition to his designation as best player of the 2023 Champions League season, Rodri finished fifth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings, a place that delighted the player: “Imagine, I can say that I I’m the fifth best player in the world. But does the Ballon d’Or ranking really reflect the reality on the ground? for Lothar Matthäus, former German international, the answer is no. He described Lionel Messi’s eighth coronation, obtained on October 30, 2023, as “a farce”.
During an interview for France Football, Rodri expressed his dream of one day becoming Ballon d’Or, an accolade that would make him the best player in the world for at least one year. But not sure that he needs this distinction to be in the minds of fans and football observers.