Declan Rice has lavished praise on to Manchester City midfielder Rodri in conversation with Joe Cole.
Speaking to Channel 4 Sport, the Arsenal dynamo was quizzed about the players he rates highly in his defensive midfield position in the Premier League and across Europe.
Declan Rice instantly named Rodri as a player he admires as he sang his praises.
Declan Rice raves about ‘incredible’ Rodri
Branded as ‘complete’ by Frank LeBouef, the £63 million man (Daily Mail) is widely regarded as the best defensive midfielder in the world.
Since the 2021/2022 season, the Spanish international has separated himself from the rest, with some even going as far as to say that he may have better Fernandinho during his time at Manchester City.
Now, Declan Rice has lauded Rodri as one of the defensive midfielders he rates extremely highly amidst other names he named such as Thomas Partey, Aurelien Tchouameni and Jorginho.
“Obviously, the main one in the Premier League is Rodri. He’s incredible. He is. The way he works, the way he keeps that Man City team ticking, he’s a top player.”
Rodri really is in a league of his own
The fact that a defensive midfielder as spectacular as Declan Rice holds Rodri in such high regard is a testament to the latter’s magnificence.
Simply put, it is a challenge to find any flaws in the treble-winner’s game.
Defensively, Rodri’s anticipation of danger, tackling and spatial awareness is second to none, while also being an engine in the middle of the park.
In possession, the former Atletico Madrid lynchpin is the gold standard as the range in his passing coupled with his ability to control the tempo of a game is on another level to his peers.
To cap it off, the number of big moments in which Rodri has stepped up are becoming hard to keep count of at this point as well.
