Manchester City midfielder Rodri commends Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Jorginho

Rodri is often praised as one of the top midfield players globally, having played a key role in City's success by winning 11 trophies during his impressive four-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.

The 28-year-old got his hands on the European Championship trophy with Spain earlier this summer and will look to add yet more silverware to his CV with City this season.

He is also firmly in the running for the coveted Ballon d’Or award, though faces stiff competition from the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and fellow countryman Lamine Yamal ahead of October’s ceremony.

City have enjoyed a dream start to the season in their defence of the Premier League title, seeing off Chelsea, Ipswich and West Ham in comprehensive fashion, and they have done so without their midfield talisman Rodri.

But Rodri has worked his way back from his hamstring injury he suffered in the Euro 2024 final and looks set to return to Guardiola’s starting XI at home to Brentford this weekend.

Ahead of the clash, the Spaniard sat down with ESPN and reserved special praise for Arsenal duo Rice and Jorginho when asked to name his favourite midfielders in the game.

‘If you ask me names I think I would not be fair because I will leave some ones that deserve it,’ he replied.

‘But I don’t know… let’s say, right now, Declan [Rice] I like a lot, what he does. Even though it’s not the same role I do.

‘I love Jorginho, when he was in the best shape.

‘In the past, for example, I would say [Sergio] Busquets, Casemiro, Xabi Alonso, these kinds of players that can manage the game.’

Rodri believes the holding midfielder position is ‘the most important’ on the pitch and plays a ‘bigger role in football’ than that of an attacker.

On his tussle with Vinicius Junior for the Ballon d’Or, Rodri said: ‘I understand the debate, I understand the people that say they don’t see what they can see in a winger or striker in a holding midfielder.

‘We do such different tasks on the pitch and I understand because football is about goals, it’s about the excitement of scoring. I get it.

‘But on the other hand, I can assure you that being a midfielder or a defender is as beautiful as being a striker and has different things to manage in the game.

‘In my opinion, the holding midfielder is a bigger role on football than a striker.

‘It might be more difficult to score goals, we all agree that it is the most difficult role in football. There is few players that can score 30 to 40 goals in a season.

‘But the [holding midfielder] role in terms of football is the most important so let’s see what the people think.’

Rodri was named Euro 2024’s Player of the Tournament after playing an integral role in Spain’s success in Germany over the summer.

‘It’s a dream come true to be honest,’ Rodri explained when looking back on Spain’s triumph.

‘Honestly, I think it is the most important trophy I’ve won in my career because it means a lot for my country, the way we did it.

‘It’s every four years and we know how tough it is to win a World Cup or a Euros and it was so special.

‘I remember the celebrations in Madrid. I’ve never seen Madrid that full of people and it was a great feeling for me, for my family, for the Spanish people.’

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