Pep Guardiola has shared his praise for Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
The midfielder has once again played a prominent role in City’s current Premier League campaign, starting all of the 19 games he’s been available for before today’s clash against Everton.
Ahead of the Manchester club’s latest game at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola has been sharing some significant praise for the 27-year-old and what he offers City on and off the pitch.
Guardiola says Rodri is a ‘true leader’
Speaking in his recent press conference ahead of today’s match against Everton, Guardiola had this to say about Rodri.
He said: “He pays attention and he’s an incredible professional in the training sessions. Never since I arrived in the training sessions have I seen him a little bit flat or a little bit distracted. He’s always focused and always encouraging his mates.
“He’s a true, true leader on the pitch. He’s such a competitor. He learns everything he needs for a holding-midfielder, encouraging the good things, correcting the bad ones. That’s what happened with Rodri. What he has is the quality. Quality, presence, composure, personality.
“How he reacts when we concede a goal. His body language. It’s a thousand million things. He’s an incredible, complete holding midfielder and football player I would say.”
City signed the midfielder from Atletico Madrid in the 2019 summer transfer window for a fee of £62m.
Since then, Rodri has gone on to make 234 appearances for the club ahead of this afternoon’s clash with the Toffees, scoring 23 goals and delivering 23 assists along the way.
The Spaniard’s league performances this season have earned him a strong overall rating of 7.54/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player in the City squad that has started more than three games.
While this shows how impressive the midfielder is on the pitch, the fact that Guardiola thinks so highly of him and the way he conducts himself in terms of his attitude further highlights what a top professional he is and how valuable he is to the squad.
