Rodri has proved himself to be a top signing for Manchester City.
Since joining the Manchester club from Atletico Madrid back in the 2019 summer transfer window, the midfielder has gone on to make 257 appearances across all competitions.
Playing a key role in some of City’s biggest trophy hunts, the 28-year-old has undoubtedly paid back the £62m transfer fee the Blues paid for him with his performances.
One person who has played a big role in seeing Rodri become the player he is for City is Pep Guardiola, who has coached the midfielder for five years.
Now though, Rodri has shared his thoughts on his club manager and what makes him stand out among other managers in Europe.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Rodri shares what makes Pep Guardiola special
In a recent article he wrote for The Players’ Tribune, Rodri said this about Guardiola and what makes him special.
He said: “To me, the unique thing about Pep is that he is always one step ahead. He is always evolving before the game around him can evolve.
“He is never satisfied with keeping things exactly as we played last season, because your competition is always going to be analysing last season.
“You don’t win four Premier League titles in a row by standing still. You either reinvent yourself or you die.
“You know, when I reference Pep, I always have to talk with my hands. I have to find a table, or a board or something and I have to start moving around coffee cups like a chess board, like he does.
“He will go here, then he will go there, and then bang — you move here. Into the space. Bang.
“For me, he added that final mental piece of the puzzle. “Seeing” the game in a different way. “Feeling” it — when to move into space, when to hold back. When to press, when to ease off. His confidence was so important to me.”
Guardiola is a special manager
After having two very successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola took charge of City back in 2016.
Since then, the 53-year-old has overlooked 476 games in all competitions, winning 353, drawing 57 and losing 66.
Having won a significant amount of trophies and broken numerous records during his time in England, it’s clear that what Rodri has acknowledged about the way Guardiola keeps evolving has been the winning formula.
This also makes it easy to see why Enzo Maresca recently named Guardiola as the best manager in Premier League history.
