Rodri has insisted that nothing can take away what Manchester City’s players achieved during his time at the club, and says he still believes in the club’s innocence after reports that they had been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules. The midfielder, who ended his spell at the Etihad Stadium in the summer and is now at Barcelona, did not shy away from the subject at a press conference held on Friday evening to preview Spain’s Nations League opener against England.
The news broke on Friday afternoon, when a variety of outlets reported that City had been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023. City have always strenuously denied the charges, and a spokesperson said that “significant elements” of the club’s legal case with the Premier League are still to be completed. The potential for sanctions could be severe, raising questions about the club’s achievements, some of which were earned at Wembley, where Rodri spoke on the eve of the England game.
Rodri drew a parallel with 2020, when City faced what he described as a similar judicial process over a different accusation. “There as well in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and in the end we ended up acquitted,” he said. That earlier case saw City successfully overturn a two-year ban from European football imposed by Uefa after an appeal to the court of arbitration for sport. “So, I believe in the justice system, and I believe in the innocence of the club.”
Asked whether the debate around possible sanctions hurts given how much he achieved with City, Rodri said: “For us, the players, it is a different thing than for you guys. I can understand all kind of opinions, and it is something that now is big. But we always tried to think in a positive way, when you live that club daily and the people who have worked hard all these years to have all the success we had. Not only Pep [Guardiola] and the players but all the structure, from the owners to the guys who worked daily. What we did, they cannot take it out of us. It is something that is not paid by money, it is paid with effort, with partnership and with being shoulder to shoulder every day. We had a lot of success over the years and here in Wembley, so I can tell you everything was deserved and I’m glad I could live one of the best eras of English football.”
He added that he retained faith in the City hierarchy and that the squad was never unsettled by the process. “No, they always tell us the confidence they have on their innocence and when you look [in] to someone’s eyes and talk in that way,” he said. “We have the example of 2020 that the process was the same, and at the end nothing happened. We were very calm in this way. You never saw the team nervous about these kind of things.”
Rodri also argued that such situations are now a part of the modern game, while maintaining the club’s position. “Nowadays I’m not saying it’s going to say normal, but many teams or some teams go through these kinds of situations, and it’s part of football today. Everyone has to follow the rules, and for me that’s great. But they always expressed the confidence that they never did something wrong, and we believe in that. That’s the thing. Until the moment they are proved wrong, we believe in the club. I’ve been there, I know how they work, and how they cooperate.”
His own time at City was medal-laden, and included the goal that won the club the Champions League in 2023 under then-manager Pep Guardiola.