Aitor Karanka believes there is something about Manchester City midfielder Rodri that gets lost on people in Spain.
Rodri is a Euro 2024 semi-finalist, after he helped his nation beat Germany in their quarter-final match on Friday. He was ‘outstanding’ in that game in the eyes of Stuart Pearce.
Spain needed extra-time to beat the hosts, with Mikel Merino proving to be the hero for Luis de la Fuente’s side with a late winner.
Spain have looked the best team in the tournament so far, having scored 11 goals and conceded just twice.
They seem to have a great balance and have two extremely exciting wingers in Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, both of whom are capable of providing moments of magic.
But it’s Rodri who ties everything together, just as he does for Manchester City week in, week out.
And the 28-year-old has come in for some very high praise from Aitor Karanka, who was speaking on talkSPORT this morning.
Aitor Karanka says people in Spain don’t realise how difficult it is to find a ‘perfect’ player like Rodri
Rodri has featured in four of Spain’s five games at Euro 2024 so far, missing only the final group stage match with Albania through suspension.
He has turned in some top performances as you would expect, and also got himself on the scoresheet in the 4-1 win over Georgia in the Round of 16.
Over the last couple of years or so, Rodri has gone to a totally different level.
He was instrumental in the Treble-winning season for City, and he followed that up with another fantastic campaign in 2023/24. We all saw how City fared when he did not play through suspension.
Rodri is just a phenomenal player, and Karanka – who is currently unattached after a spell with Maccabi Tel Aviv – reckons his status as a superstar player is still not quite acknowledged properly in Spain.
He said on talkSPORT: “Everybody is speaking about Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, but for me part of the group there are two players who are key.
“They are Rodri and Fabian Ruiz. Fabian Ruiz and Rodri have had an amazing Euros. Rodri, what no one realises in Spain, it’s difficult to find (someone like that) because with the ball, he is perfect, without the ball, he is always at the right place.”
Rodri may only be fully appreciated when he retires
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Over the last couple of years, people have been waking up to just how good Rodri is.
The view for a lot of English football fans who watch him in the Premier League is that he is now the best in the world in his position.
But seemingly, Rodri still doesn’t quite get the credit he should back in his homeland.
One wonders if this is because Spain have produced some of the best midfielders the game has ever seen over the years.
The likes of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta are all held in the highest possible regard, so perhaps the focus on those players takes away from Rodri a little bit.
Potentially, Rodri may not be fully appreciated until he comes to hand up his boots.
