Rodri still believes in Manchester City. He spent seven seasons with the club, always being told that City was innocent of the financial fair play charges it has been facing for years. The team was reportedly found guilty of those charges on Friday, yet Rodri is still backing the club.
The defensive midfielder no longer plays for Man City, of course. He began playing for Barcelona in his home nation of Spain this season, but that didn't stop him from being asked about City being handed down a decision on financial improprieties.
Speaking on Saturday ahead of Spain's Nations League match against England, Rodri said, "We went through an identical process in 2020. The club always reassured us that we would be cleared of wrongdoing, that we would face no penalties—because nothing improper had been done. We trusted the club, and ultimately, the club was acquitted."
Rodri continues to back Man City despite recent ruling
Of course, the big difference between the prior decision of guilt and now is not that Man City was necessarily found innocent, but that, through a technicality in the investigation process, City's appeal was upheld. The same could still occur this time, too, but it is seemingly far less likely.
Moreover, and not to parse Rodri's words, but they could ultimately ring hollow as the ownership of the club, Abu Dhabi United Group, has maintained its innocence over the many years that the investigation into failing to disclose financial information, among many other charges, has occurred. The ownership group would, of course, tell players the club has done nothing wrong.
In fact, Manchester City released a statement on Saturday, still declaring its innocence. The ownership knows whether it did something wrong or not, has been found guilty, and is just awaiting its punishment, so it can likely appeal again. The players, though, likely did nothing wrong and were simply on the club to do one thing: win matches.
Rodri certainly helped the Blues do that. In his seven seasons in east Manchester, the club won the Premier League four times and the Champions League once. He won the Ballon d'Or in 2024. He was a special player, and he still is.
He also still defends the club that helped him achieve high-end success from both a team and player aspect. Now with Barcelona, he could say anything positive or negative he wanted to about Manchester City. He isn't. He keeps defending the club. For that, Blues fans will always hold him in high regard, and hopefully the current ownership group is worthy of having had such a great player.
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