It's probably time to talk about Rodri - what are we witnessing?

[Oscar Bonavena]

Would Rodri lift our team or are we so dysfunctional that we'd turn him into a lazy, lethargic donkey within a couple of months?

Caceido looked a monster at Brighton but has been a flop at Chelsea. Had he gone to Liverpool, there's no way I think he'd be as bad under Klopp.

It's not just the quality of the player, it's the culture of the team/club they're going into. With Rodri going to Man City under Pep, it's the perfect storm.

 

[Carolina Red]

Real in particular always seems to find money somewhere to fund their transfers and Rodri has been at the club for 5 years now...has he not?

And they got Tchouameni, Camavinga, and Bellingham…

 

[CallyRed]

In my opinion the greatest player I have seen at City

You are betraying the man behind your username with that claim

 

[FrankWhite]

Amazing cerebral player backed by a superb structure. Funnily enough, I think he'd look slow in our system. Always seems to be everywhere but never has to cover very large spaces.

 

[tenpoless]

Lets talk about that one time when Wan Bissaka did him dirty with dribbling skills and sent him to get an ice cream from Disneyland.

 

[pocco]

Their both up there, as is David Silva (who is a bit behind both) but in my opinion Rodri just is that bit extra special in his position.

If De Bruyne is great, we can win any game but it isn't really a given. And he can be pretty non-existent pretty randomly (not inconsistent, just human)

If Rodri is great we win. Guaranteed. And he has most likely rocketed home the winner himself after 80 minutes of locking midfield down himself. And he is mostly great. Sometimes just very good

I pray he can keep this level up for years, but for me he is already established as the best I have seen, for what I wrote above but also for how much better he is than Fernandinho who I at the time thought were the perfect holding midfielder in our system and irreplaceable. It is almost absurd

How he ranks among the best of all time, and in the Prem I leave to other because I am very biased. But I'd back him against any midfielder I have personally seen in England and that includes the likes of Viera and Keane who obviously are two of the greatest

I'm not going to lie, when I first saw him playing for you I thought you'd made a mistake. I thought he was lacking athleticism that Fernandinho had and it would unbalance your midfield. Obviously I was very wrong, though I would say i think that's the slight chink in his armour, though it's rarely exploited as the opposition rarely have the ball or the time and space to build anything. Now he's obviously settled since his first season and he just dominates.

 

[FeedTheGoat]

You are betraying the man behind your username with that claim

He is the greatest player we have ever had who were born in Bermuda, but overall I think Rodri edges it slightly.

 

[Erictheking7]

I remember first watching him about 5 years ago in a friendly, Wales v Spain in Cardiff. At the time he was with Atletico Madrid and had just broken into the Spanish national team. He was easily the best player on the pitch that night and completely controlled the tempo of the game. You could tell even then he was going right to the top. Shame he signed for City not long after.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Their best player.

Best midfielder in the world at the moment.

 

[Fridge chutney]

Too bad he plays for a sham club.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Pretty good

 

[Blood Mage]

He's like if you gave prime Carrick a better engine and superior athleticism. Best DM in the world by a distance right now.

 

[tentan]

Exceptional player. Their most important player.

 

[eire-red]

All timer if we are being honest. Will finish his career having won almost everything, incredibly versatile in a variety of roles, has one of the rarest profiles for holding midfielders. There's a reason City are such a different side with and without him.

Can we even class him as purely a holding midfielder anymore?

It seems to me like Guardiola changing formation with that extra CB like Stones and the FB stepping into the DM role has allowed Rodri to play further forward, and he has been able to bring that controlling influence higher up the field and is pitching in more in a offensive sense.

He's a much more rounded CM than what he started out in his first few seasons. I actually can't think of any weakness to his game.

I wouldn't go as far as stating he's the best player in the world, and in fairness the OP didn't suggest that, it's moreso been other posts. For me, the truly top 1/2 players in any period / era are the ones who get me up off my seat, are able to unpick the lock and bring something that nobody else on the pitch can do. Players who when they turn it on are the only player on the pitch that matters.

I wouldn't view Rodri as that, I view his brilliance as the consistency and efficiency in his game. He executes the basics of football to such a high degree almost 100% of the time.

Before, I would have likened him to Busquets, but I think he's evolved beyond the pure DM Busquets was. I think I view him as a throwback to a B2B midfielder, which is what sets him apart in modern day when midfielders seem to have such defined roles.

Agree with you that he has to be considered as an all time midfield great. In my lifetime, he's not at the Xavi, Iniesta, Modric, Zidane cohort, but that's probably biased by their profile and what I've stated as my favourite type of player.

Probably top 10? I'm always hesitant with these rankings, there's a tendency for recency bias (for me anyway).

 

[Skills]

Yeah he's immense but I think Bernardo Silva does a lot to make that midfield work. On the half turn there isn't a better midfielder in the world, and if ever City get into an uncomfortable situation it's usually him that you see dropping in to get the ball and keep it for them.

 

[Powderfinger]

Elite player and the key to City’s game.

It’s easy to see his quality in possession but where he also really stands out are duels and transitional moments. He’s the best player in the world at using the ball after winning it.

His only weakness is if you can get him into an up and down big space game, but City are very rarely sucked into playing that kind of match. If the spaces are controlled and relatively tight,, he’s the king of the jungle.

 

[Donaldo]

Very good player who can have an exceptional game without doing anything seemingly exceptional.

Interested to see where he goes after City get sent to League Two.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

He's a wonderful player playing for a corrupt team whose titles will be voided.

 

[giorno]

I wondered that stuff too, why is it their top players don't get pursued outright by Barca and Real? Do they know something we don't know? Surely the lure of Real and Barca would normally be strong for him to resist?

City have infinite money, and Guardiola, and they're winning

 

[Desert Eagle]

Roy Keane regen

 

[CannonBalls]

Wow, even better than De Bruyne? Big claim.

Not at all. He has surpassed KDB for more than a year now.
City didn't miss a beat when KDB was injured and we all know what Rodris absence does to city.

 

[SilentWitness]

Top class and a throwback player and human. Not on social media, just a regular bloke that plays football.

Also I think in this City side he's vital to the way they now set up and play with the CB pushing forward and having floating players. His role defensively is just as important as his role going forward and he makes it look easy. It's also why I think the role Rice plays at Arsenal can't be understated as it's similar at times.

 

[Gio]

Not at all. He has surpassed KDB for more than a year now.
City didn't miss a beat when KDB was injured and we all know what Rodris absence does to city.

In fairness City have had numerous KDB alternatives in the squad to shuffle around to minimise his absence, but very little credible alternative to Rodri.

 

[Sylar]

The fcker is only 27 as well. He is basically a throw back to the 90s when you had midfielders who could tackle, cover space, as well as pass and score goals.
Reminds me of Keane in that sense.

Hopefully he leaves after this season but doubt it. Wondering if he's on higher than reported wages

 

[Laurencio]

He simply has everything you want a midfielder to have.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Yeah he's a mint player. But I loved seeing his greetin face when we beat Spain last year.

 

[CannonBalls]

In fairness City have had numerous KDB alternatives in the squad to shuffle around to minimise his absence, but very little credible alternative to Rodri.

Thats the things, its not just in city squad. There are a handful player in the world who can play the lone pivot role at the highest level. For what he does there is no alternative in the world currently.
Anyone providing few of the things he provides well (but not all) is a main player at Madrid/Barca etc.

 

[Borys]

We'll probably buy him at the age of 33 and he'll be our best player for one season, until we run him into the ground after playing one man midfield for a season.

 

[Gordon S]

Absolute class. Incredibly frustrating that his class was already showing at Villareal. Looked like a Carrick- Busquets lovechild in the making. These players are so rare.

 

[yamo123x]

Absolute monster. Hate to say it, best midfielder in world football for me, he dominated that game last night against a strong villa team.

I think Rodri Rice and Bellingham are the world's best 3 midfielders, all offer something different but some serious talent right there.

 

[Hammondo]

Thats the things, its not just in city squad. There are a handful player in the world who can play the lone pivot role at the highest level. For what he does there is no alternative in the world currently.
Anyone providing few of the things he provides well (but not all) is a main player at Madrid/Barca etc.

There is never a time when there are any of these types of players, and they get snapped up by the top teams.

 

[Noot]

You still see the occasional Arsenal fan who still believes Partey benched him at Atletico

 

[Pascal Quiff]

His massive arse.

 

[giorno]

Having a Xavi/Modric/Pirlo type of season so far. Other than those 3 I don't think I've seen a season like this from a CM. City might be the best team in the world yet again this season, only it's not down to depth of quality and talent or cohesion and organization. It's because of him

To prove this, Guardiola should drop him for their next, let's say 4 games

 

[TenonTen]

I think he's better than Busquets.


We'll see if he has the longevity of some of the top midfielders though.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I think you have to factor in how good Pep is at coaching that specific role, given his background and essentially how he was brought up under Cruyff/Michels etc. I'm quite critical of Pep in some regards but he elevates players in that specific role to great levels, Fernadinho wasn't as good before he came in and Rodri, though let's not forget he was a big transfer and well known entity, has kicked on the last couple of years in particular.
@TenonTen don't think Busquets will ever be bettered in that specific role personally

 

[Brwned]

I wonder if he'd make the legendary Spain team with Xavi/Xabi/Busquet

Wondering which of the later two he could potentially displace. But wonderful player nonetheless.

100% he’s getting in there ahead of Alonso. He might be better than Busquets too (if he can keep this up) but you could never really break up that combination with Xavi, and his short game is a little better, which helps in that extra Spanish team.

With no stand out players like Messi/Ronaldo around at the moment, he'd be my pick for best player in the world. I don't think he gets as much mainstream praise as he deserves though.

I think it’s more a case that he’s just stepped up a level. I think he probably stepped up one level last year, and started to get some recognition last year with some key goals. But even last year he was just quietly doing his thing effortlessly. This year he’s became a real leader in the team. You’d expect that to be reflected in the awards and media, just with a little lag.

 

[Bondi77]

A poor man's Matic.

 

[DJ Jeff]

Forget Haaland it should have been this guy missing out on the Ballon D'or by a hair.

 

[giorno]

He has stepped up massively over the last 2 years. Before he was "just" a great player, now he's playing at a higher level then I can remember from Xabi, Busquets or Casemiro(or indeed, Kroos)