We may have thankfully moved on from the days when the great Didier Deschamps was demeaned as a ‘water carrier’ but still, exceptional holding midfielders fail to get the true plaudits they deserve.
The only exceptions that come to mind are Claude Makelele, who ultimately, for a good while, had the role named in his honour, and N’Golo Kante, who left us exhausted just watching him cover every blade of glass ten-fold per match.
Manchester City’s Rodri is not an exception, our admiration chiefly reserved for the extraordinary prolificacy of Erling Haaland and the sublime creativity of Kevin De Bruyne.
Elsewhere, we either go dewy-eyed or hate on Jack Grealish – depending on our club allegiance – and shake our heads in exasperation at a winger’s naivety in trying to beat Kyle Walker for pace.
For the hipsters among us, there is John Stones excelling in a hybrid capacity.
For his part, Rodri is consistently brilliant, and it’s a brilliance that is universally taken for granted. He’s just there, every game, pulling the strings and immaculately so. What else is there to say?
Which is odd frankly. It’s an odd oversight, especially when it’s acknowledged that for a team that routinely smashes the Premier League betting, the Spanish international is by some distance their most important player.
Really? Yes, really. Because should you take De Bruyne out of this City creation via injury, it remodels itself to accommodate his loss. This we have seen several times over across several seasons.
Likewise, minus Haaland, City revisit the false nine stratagem that gained them 99 league goals in 2021/22.
Rodri however is utterly indispensable. He is the cornerstone of the magnificent edifice Pep Guardiola has constructed.
He is the human personification of an elaborate blueprint that has taken his club to unprecedented heights, pivotal both in and out of possession.
His immense importance is best illustrated by the sheer number of minutes he played last season, in a structure that often sees its key components rested, it’s shape rejigged and refreshed.
Rodri started all-but-one of City’s Champions League fixtures – scoring the crucial winning goal in the final – and all-but-three league games. Indeed, the only player to start more games in a single campaign under Guardiola is Lionel Messi in 2011/12.
His stats meanwhile were remarkable, again illustrating his substantial contribution to a substantial team.
Only Brighton’s Lewis Dunk completed more passes in the Premier League last term, the next midfielder being Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with 721 fewer.
Rodri on average won two aerial duels per 90 and only Haaland and De Bruyne won more Man of the Match awards within the City framework.
In possession, he initiated 11 open-play sequences that ended with a goal in the Premier League in 2022-23, four more than any other player. Out of possession, his 466 ball recoveries was the most of any top-flight star.
Moreover, in an outstanding, perfect ten months of competitive football, Rodri posted the most progressive carries (384) in the league and the highest carry progress (3,953 metres) of any midfielder, a seismic influence that he transferred to the Champions League too.
There, against the elite of Europe, the 27-year-old regained possession on 105 occasions, 26 more times than any other player. Aptly, the last player to reach that figure was Claude Makelele, who had Rodri’s position named after him.
The Spanish conductor may not be the guy who directly alters the sports betting, instead starting the moves that leads to weekly deconstructions of the great and the good.
But figures such as the above makes us believe that perhaps we’ve short-changed his stature by claiming he is merely Manchester City’s most important element.
He is the Premier League’s best player, bar none.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
