Manchester City have been a dominant force in England and Europe over the past few years.
In addition to winning four consecutive Premier League titles, City have lifted three major European trophies over the past couple of seasons.
This latest season has seen Pep Guardiola’s side go unbeaten across all competitions prior to City’s Carabao Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues have done this while dealing with several injury issues in their squad.
Now though, one key figure from City’s squad has been heavily praised for the consistency in his performances for the Blues.
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Darren Bent hails Rodri’s consistency after Ballon d’Or win
After seeing Rodri beat Vinicius Junior in the Ballon d’Or, Darren Bent said this on talkSPORT (29/10 4:07 PM) about why he feels this was the right result.
He said: “I know when you look at highlights and you look at what Vinicius Junior can do and other players [who] maybe [have] more ‘wow’ moments.
“But if you look at the fundamentals of any team and you look at what Rodri does for Manchester City when he’s there, what he does for Spain when he’s there, he has been so good and so consistent.
“I put Rodri in every single game at a 9/10. There might be other games where Vinicius Junior has a 10/10 because he’s that type of player, but he’s not 10/10 every single week.
“There are some people who watch La Liga every single week that say he can have dips. Rodri, consistently, for Spain and Man City is 9/10 [every week].”
Rodri was crucial for City last season
The 2023/24 season saw Rodri prove how important he is for the Blues and why he is such a prominent figure in the team.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 34 | 8 | 9 |
| Champions League | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| FA Cup | 4 | 0 | 1 |
For example, the three Premier League games City lost throughout the campaign were the three matches the Spaniard was unavailable for through suspension.
In fact, the 28-year-old ended the league campaign with the highest total of shot-creating actions (157) and a combined total of tackles and interceptions (96) in the City squad last season.
His overall performances earned Rodri a season rating of 7.62/10 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest-rated player in the Premier League for last season.
This backs up Bent’s point about the midfielder being particularly consistent and therefore a worthy winner of the Ballon d’Or given the trophies he won for club and country as well.
Unfortunately for City, they’ll have to get through the remainder of this season without Rodri while he recovers from the serious knee injury he picked up in September’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
