Dean Saunders has named Rodri in his 2023/2024 Premier League Team of the Season up until now.
The pundit chose the Manchester City lynchpin alongside Arsenal talisman Declan Rice in his side’s defensive midfield pairing while speaking on talkSPORT (02/01/2024).
After City won the Club World Cup in December, Sergio Gomez dubbed the £220,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man as “the best player in the world”, which goes to show the respect the three-time Premier League winner commands in the dressing room.
Dean Saunders names Rodri in his Premier League Team of the Season
This season, it seems like several fans and pundits alike have chimed in with their thoughts on the best defensive midfielder in the world since Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal in the summer.
While some have sided with Rice after how well he has adapted to life at the Emirates Stadium, others have seemingly had no reason to question the treble-winner in any capacity.
Dean Saunders, however has picked both Rodri and Declan Rice in his Premier League Team of the Season, while lauding the former.
“Midfield, I’ve got Declan Rice and Rodri sat there.”
“Rodri, probably the best defensive midfield player in the world, playing out of his skin, nicks goals as well”, he told talkSPORT.
It is hard to look past Rodri when picking any team
Dean Saunders is right in hailing Rodri as the best No.6 in the world as he is most certainly the epitome of consistency in his position.
In the Premier League, the ex-Villareal midfielder would be named amongst the very best players.
However, the same can be said for his status in world football.
After all, Rodri finished only behind Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi in the rankings to win the Ballon d’Or last year, sitting in fifth place.
As a result, be it a Premier League or a World XI, no team can simply choose to exclude a player of the highly-rated midfielder’s calibre.
