I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 946: Chapter 32: Champions League Final: The New World-Class Rodri

Real Madrid successfully entered the ”finals”, and in the Champions League final, they will face off against Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Guardiola and Chen Zhong can be said to be old rivals. When Chen Zhong first debuted, Guardiola repeatedly expressed that Chen Zhong was the best midfield choice in his mind.

Now under Guardiola, Rodri has a few elements that resemble Chen Zhong according to Guardiola.

And just with these few similarities, Rodri already seems like the new generation’s top midfielder.

Last season, Rodri triumphed over a host of stars to win the European Golden Ball Award, becoming the undisputed leader of Manchester City, and even the Premier League...

Before the season started, in an interview on FIFA’s official website, Manchester City manager Guardiola discussed the topic of Manchester City’s true core, Rodri.

Guardiola stated that Manchester City needs to be careful in protecting Rodri. Rodri was injured for 9 months, and this process was very long. He knows Rodri is eager to play and help Manchester City achieve better results, but Manchester City can only protect Rodri; his impact is evident in his limited playing time. Guardiola believes Rodri can regain his starting position soon.

Guardiola believes that being able to lead Manchester City to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup is an honor, and the team can only return after winning in four years.

Guardiola added that since Manchester City is here, why not strive to play more matches in the FIFA Club World Cup? He is fond of Fluminense, Botafogo, and other Brazilian teams. Brazilian players are very committed and united in their matches, which embodies the spirit of football.

It has to be said that Rodri is indeed Guardiola’s most valued player, as Rodri is crucial to Manchester City. Without Rodri, last season’s Manchester City seemed lost on how to play.

Rodri just celebrated his 29th birthday, playing as a midfielder and still being an all-powerful midfielder who combines both offense and defense. He was the best player for the Spain Team’s victory in the 2024 European Cup and the Ballon d’Or winner of 2024—able to crush Vinicius’ Real Madrid advantage in Ballon d’Or competition, showing how strong Rodri’s domination is.

Rodri initially played for La Liga’s Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, joining Manchester City in 2019 with a transfer fee of 70 million euros, and he helped Manchester City win the Champions League and achieve four consecutive Premier League titles.

In June last year, the Daily Mirror reported that Manchester City was about to renew their core midfielder Rodri’s contract until the summer of 2029.

His weekly salary will surpass 300,000 pounds, making him the highest-paid player in the team.

28-year-old Rodri joined Manchester City in the summer of 2019 and quickly became the team’s midfield mainstay.

To date, he has played 261 matches for Manchester City, scoring 26 goals and providing 31 assists, winning 4 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, 1 FA Cup, 2 Community Shields, 1 Champions League, 1 European Super Cup, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup for 12 championship trophies. He was one of the biggest contributors to Manchester City’s winning the 2022/23 season’s Triple Crown.

In the 2023/24 season, with De Bruyne missing for half a year, Rodri carried the banner of Manchester City’s midfield, delivering a nearly double-digit number with 50 matches, 9 goals, and 13 assists, leading Manchester City to an unprecedented quadruple Premier League title.

In the summer’s European Cup, he again led the Spain Team to win the championship as the main player. His outstanding performance in both clubs and national teams made Rodri triumph over the highest-praised Vinicius, successfully holding up the 2024 European Golden Ball Award, becoming the second 90s-born player to win this highest honor for professional football players.

The first was Chen Zhong.

Rodri’s contract with Manchester City will expire in the summer of 2027, and his renewal negotiations began over a year ago. However, last September’s severe cruciate ligament injury forced Rodri into a long battle with injuries.

To let him recover peacefully, the negotiations were temporarily put on hold.

Surprisingly, Rodri, who was originally expected to be sidelined for the season, announced his return before the season ended, and played as a substitute in the Premier League’s 37th round where Manchester City beat Bournemouth 3-1 at home. This put Rodri’s contract renewal negotiations back on the agenda.

According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester City hopes to extend Rodri’s contract to the summer of 2029, and his current weekly salary of 200,000 pounds will be increased to over 300,000, thus making him the team’s second-highest-paid player after Haaland.

In fact, the urgency for Manchester City to propose a top-salary renewal contract to Rodri who just returned from a severe injury stemmed from realizing his importance on the field, especially after a season with four empty titles.

To put it bluntly, without Rodri, Guardiola’s possession-based tactics simply won’t work.

As a defensive midfielder, Rodri possesses top-notch defense and interception abilities, switching from defense to attack with a single pass. His penetrating assistance and long shots are also impressive.

With him on the field, Manchester City effectively has two top-tier players in both attack and defense.

And for the just-ended 2024/25 season, everyone knows what a disaster Manchester City faced without Rodri.

Therefore, Manchester City can let go of De Bruyne, but they will spare no effort to keep Rodri who is recovering from injury.

And after acquiring Rodri, Guardiola repeatedly expressed his fondness for Chen Zhong. Indeed, without ever having a player like Chen Zhong before, he didn’t really grasp it. But after experiencing the excitement Rodri brought him, Guardiola has a better understanding of what Chen Zhong could achieve.