Working closely with one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation in Pep Guardiola has seemingly played a huge role in Rodri’s rise at Manchester City.
Rodri sat with Guardiola after training to “learn” from his countryman when he first joined the club, according to Ilkay Gundogan.
Since then, Rodri has praised Pep Guardiola’s “hunger” for success as “special” due to his unrelenting pursuit for success year after year.
Rodri won the Ballon d’Or last month and it’s safe to say that his time in England has been a fairytale.
However, the Spaniard was given a guarantee when he joined Manchester City in 2019 that comes as a shock now.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Rodri revealed “Guardiola was leaving” Man City in 2020
Speaking to El Partidazo de Cope, Rodri revealed that he was informed that Pep Guardiola was set to depart City at the end of the 2019/2020 season when he signed for the club.
“You want to be surrounded by the best and there will be a before and after Pep. When I signed, they told me that Guardiola was leaving but he is very ambitious. When he is gone, things will change but City will continue to be City.”
| GUARDIOLA’S MAN CITY TROPHY HAUL IN 2020 | |
| COMPETITION | TROPHIES |
| PREMIER LEAGUE | 2 |
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | 0 |
| FA CUP | 1 |
| CARABAO CUP | 3 |
However, in November 2020, Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension until 2023.
In 2022, the Catalan extended his deal until 2025 and has ended up staying for five more seasons after the initial promise that was made to Rodri.
Rodri’s Pep Guardiola revelation should scare Liverpool and Arsenal
With the two-time treble-winning manager being in the final season of his time at the Etihad Stadium, City’s rivals would perhaps assume that he could leave at the end of the campaign after having conquered English and European football.
In October, it was reported that “people in the industry” view Pep Guardiola’s future — including those who know him well believe the legendary manager “changes his mind almost every day” about his summer plans. So much so that it was claimed last month that Manchester United informed Ruben Amorim that Guardiola could leave City at the end of the season — a factor that the club feel could lead to the English side’s decline.
However, Rodri’s latest revelation about Pep Guardiola’s future should worry Arsenal and Liverpool — two clubs in competition with City to win the Premier League title and become English football’s dominant force. A claim also emerged that insiders are of the belief that Manchester City feel Guardiola will extend his contract until 2026.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 23 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 19 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 19 |
| 6 |  BrightonBrighton | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
Pep Guardiola could well decide to prolong his stay at Manchester City, even if he has considered an exit — which is particularly worrying for Arsenal and Liverpool due to both clubs’ wait for a league title since 2003 and 2020 respectively.
For a Liverpool side that could potentially be forced to let go of arguably their three best outfield players in Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold on free transfers in the summer — a trio of stalwarts who might virtually be irreplaceable for them — the ongoing campaign might be their best chance in years of winning the title.
As for Arsenal, while their transformation into a title-challenging club under Mikel Arteta has been mightily impressive, they have suffered at the hands of Guardiola’s genius two seasons in a row and his extension could further pile on the misery they have already experienced.
Even if the Sky Blues fail to beat either side to the league title this season, it is important to note that he has never finished below first place in two campaigns in a row throughout his career.
Barring world-class managers like Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp, no other coach has been able to outclass Pep Guardiola in a title fight — with the aforementioned trio also finishing behind him in their quest for domestic glory several times.
As things stand, City look like they are there for the taking — having lost four consecutive games and suffered an injury crisis.
But Micah Richards’ “bet” for the league title remain Manchester City — despite his admission that ahead of the season, a significant injury to Rodri would have led him to side with Arsenal.
Such is the fear that the Sky Blues command in title races in particular since Guardiola’s arrival that a majority of the football fraternity hesitate to look past them to taste glory and justifiably so.
Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot will be hoping that Rodri’s admission does not indicate that Pep Guardiola’s domineering presence will stay put in East Manchester and harm their chances of success.
