Real Madrid have been linked with a surprise move for Manchester City midfielder Rodri this summer.
Los Blancos are reportedly prepared to make a £100million bid for the Man City midfielder this summer. He’d be the fulcrum Xabi Alonso wants in the middle of the park.
Pep Guardiola clearly wouldn’t want to lose his Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder, after already experiencing the 2024-25 season without him. But would Man City be able to survive without the Spaniard?
Rodri’s vital role for Man City
Rodri is the metronome of this Man City team under Guardiola, since arriving in 2019 for a fee of around £62.8m from Atletico Madrid.
The 29-year-old has made 265 appearances for the Citizens, totalling 20,739 minutes. He’s scored 26 goals and provided 32 assists during that time.
Sitting slap bang in the middle of Guardiola’s system, Rodri is responsible for controlling the tempo, progressing play through the thirds and winning the ball back when Man City lose possession.
One statistic that embodies the importance of Rodri’s role for Man City was his 53 consecutive Premier League games without a loss. It’s the longest unbeaten run by any player.
The only game he lost during the 2023-24 season was the FA Cup final, where Man City lost 2-1 to local rivals Manchester United.
Dabble sign-up offer: Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets
Not signed up to Dabble yet? Here's how to claim the Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets welcome offer:
- Sign up to Dabble through this link
- Register your account with accurate personal details
- Place your first bet of £10 or more
- Receive your £10 in free bets when your qualifying bet has setted
- Use your Free Bet on any eligible sportsbook market within 7 days
#AD 18+ 7-day free bet expiry. Stake not returned. Promotional Terms Apply. GambleAware.org
Rodri’s 2023-24 season
During the 2023-24 season, Rodri kept things ticking with very little fault in central areas for Man City. He gave them a lot of control in games, completing 92% of his passes with attempting 112.1 per 90 minutes.
But this wasn’t just passing for the sake of it. Rodri also averaged a whopping 11.5 progressive passes per 90 and made11.6 passes into the final third. He created 1.5 chances per 90 too.
The Spain international ranked extremely well for defensive numbers. He read the game, stepped in to regain possession and protected the defensive unit behind him.
Rodri averaged 2.94 tackles and interceptions per 90, while making 0.98 blocks and 7.21 ball recoveries per 90.
With many midfielders who are known for their ability to dictate play from deep and protect the defence, you wouldn’t expect them to also offer decent attacking output.
But Rodri averaged 0.52 goals and assists per 90, in 2023-24. He even scored the all-important Champions League final winner against Inter Milan.
Man City’s 2024-25 midfield options
The Ballon d’Or winner suffered a season-ending injury in early on in the 2024-25 campaign. So Guardiola was left with Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva as his deeper midfield options.
All three midfielders made 30+ appearances in the Premier League, looking to fill the void of a Rodri sized hole.
Unfortunately for Man City, no one came close to offering what Rodri does to Guardiola’s side. Kovacic was the closest in terms of passes completed (71.2 per 90) and touches (90.2 per 90).
Rodri completed more long passes (7.4 per 90) than all three combined (5.6 per 90). He made 26.1 forward passes per 90 compared to just 18.3 from Kovacic, 11.6 from Gundogan and Silva’s 10.3.
The trio also struggled to replicate Rodri’s defensive qualities in front of the back line. Kovacic did chip in nicely with defensive actions. He averaged 1.0 interceptions, won 5.2 duels and made 4.7 ball recoveries per 90.
However, the Croatian is much more suited to being aggressive off the ball, rather than screening the defensive line.
This is similar for Gundogan and Silva, who averaged 3.4 and 4.1 duels won per 90 respectively, along with 4.7 and 3.7 ball recoveries per 90.
If Man City had just those three available, they’d struggle to replace Rodri. But they aren’t the Citizens’ only options.
Rodri replacement?
Man City signed Nico Gonzalez from Porto for £50m in January, with the aim of helping to cover for Rodri
The 23-year-old made 17 appearances for Man City, scoring two goals and playing 952 minutes. He added another midfield profile for Guardiola to experiment with.
Man City have also added another midfielder to their ranks in the summer transfer window. Tijjani Reijnders has made the move from AC Milan for around £46.5m.
Both Gonzalez and Reijnders bring brilliant on ball qualities. They average 6.69 and 6.61 progressive passes per 90, respectively, and have the ability to dictate play from deeper areas in a similar vein to Rodri.
They also add extra athleticism and mobility in midfield, helping to cover the defensive qualities Man City struggled without in midfield last campaign.
Gonzalez averaged 2.04 tackles per 90 in 2024-25, making 4.24 ball recoveries and winning 1.84 aerial duels per 90.
This ranks closely to Rodri who averaged 2.15 tackles per 90 in 2023-24, making 7.21 ball recoveries and winning 1.66 aerial duels per 90.
All in all, Man City would likely be able to move ahead with the midfield options of Gonzalez and Reijnders for 2025-26. But if they did decide to reassess in the future, one name to look out for would be Crystal Palace‘s Adam Wharton.