Rodri has once again proved himself to be a crucial player for Manchester City and Spain.
After playing in all but one of the 35 Premier League games he was available for during the previous campaign, the City midfielder went on to play a similarly prominent role in Spain’s journey to the final of the 2024 European Championship.
Even though Rodri’s international teammate Dani Vivian said ahead of the final against England that the midfielder should have won a Ballon d’Or by now, a pundit has highlighted one thing that the City star thinks he’d struggle to do on the pitch.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Paul Merson shares one thing Rodri wouldn’t be able to do
In a recent episode of Football’s Greatest, Paul Merson said this about Rodri when discussing the subject of Declan Rice, including his role in the England team compared to how he plays at Arsenal and whether he is world-class or not.
He said: “World-class is a hard one because world-class is used very loosely. World-class is like a Rodri, he gets in every team in the world. That’s world-class, in my opinion.
“I felt sorry for Declan Rice. I don’t think he’s a holding-midfield player. I think he’s one of the eights now. When him and [Martin] Odegaard play and it’s [Thomas] Partey or Jorginho holding, I think he’s a better player where he can burst forward.
“He finds it hard in tight positions, but if he’s running with the ball at pace, he gets his head up and he can pass the ball. He’s still a good player, in my opinion. I just think he’s played in the wrong position.
“As I say, Rodri couldn’t play as a holding-midfield player in the way England play.”
Rodri vs Rice
Even though Rice played 170 minutes more than Rodri in the recent tournament in Germany, the Spaniard still made more progressive passes (40 vs 39), key passes (6 vs 4), progressive carries (16 vs 5) and shot-creating actions (17 vs 15) than the Arsenal star.
This suggests that Rodri had more attacking freedom than Rice may have had under Gareth Southgate for England.
Therefore, it’s easy to see why Merson thinks the serial winner may not be as effective as he’s shown he can be in an attacking sense if he were to be the one playing Rice’s role for England.
