RODRI AGREES NEW CONTRACT WITH MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez has signed a new 3-year-extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2027.
The 26-year-old joined Manchester City for a massive £62.8milllion from Atletico Madrid in 2019 and had two years left on his initial contract, ending in 2024. Rodri’s new 5-year deal will extend his stay at the club for another 3 years after improving the terms of his initial deal. Rodri has since established himself as a midfield anchor for the back-to-back Premier League champions making 151 appearances in 3 seasons at the Etihad, scoring 13 times and providing 9 assists.
“Joining City in 2019 is the best decision I have made in my career,” Rodri said. “I have loved every second. The fans have been amazing with me. I feel totally supported by the club and the manager pushes me every single day. I have improved so much as a player, and I want to thank Pep and all the backroom staff for their help. They are completely committed to helping me become the best player I can be, and I appreciate their hard work.”
“We have been very successful since I came here, which is something that makes me very proud. But to be honest, that success has made me even more hungry. Once you start winning big titles, you don’t want to stop. City, I feel, offers me the best chance of winning trophies and that’s why I am so pleased to be staying here for longer.”
Txiki Begiristain, who is the Director of Football at Manchester City, added: “Rodri has been exceptional since coming here, so I am delighted we have managed to agree this new deal. He is the perfect example of what a top professional should be: he has a fantastic attitude, lives his life in the right way, takes care of his body and trains hard every single day. That is a manager’s dream, and I know Pep loves working with him. He has improved a lot since coming here and, for me, he is now one of the best in the world at his position.”
Rodri has consistently improved during his time at Manchester City, eventually edging out City legend Fernandinho, who has since switched the rain of Manchester for the sunshine of Curitiba in Brazil after signing with Club Athletico Paranaense.
Rodri is an astute student of the game, has superb athletic ability, high quality passing attributes and a sharp eye for the goal. The Madrid-born midfielder is a natural at sitting in front of City’s back four complimenting the abilities of his teammates, and has been lauded for having a keen understanding of everything that the holding midfielder role demands.
Rodri had the highest pass accuracy in the Premier League last season and the second-highest in all of England’s top four divisions with 91.8%. The Spanish international also won the most possession in the midfield third more times (170) than any other player in the Premier League last season, had the most attempted passes (2,865), most completed passes (2,629), and the most touches (3,246). The 26-year-old also broke up play better than anyone else in the league, making 17 recoveries per 1,000 opposition touches.
Pep said about the young midfielder last season: “I think he’s now stable. He’s always paying attention and he’s realizing what we are looking for because sometimes you need time to understand. He is still young and his mentality, he’s a competitor who can show it in every training session and game. We are more than satisfied. We knew it when we went to him at Atletico, he’s growing and hopefully he can be a better player. He still has the margin to be a better player and, hopefully, we can help him.”
Rodri and Manchester City now seem like a match made in heaven as the 6-foot-3 Spaniard loves playing for Manchester City, and vice versa. “I always thought since the first day I came here, [that] this was my home,” Rodri said. “Of course you need to adapt to a new country and a new club but in my mind I was so, so happy being here at City. Yeah, I think it’s kind of my family, my second family and I feel that every day I play in the Etihad. So, it was an easy [contract] renewal for me, no doubts about continuing my steps here.”
“[I’m] very proud of what I’ve done the last three years here and I want, again, to change the history in this club. I think we’re doing amazing things and we want more. So very happy to continue here.”
Rodri has since won 4 major trophies during his 3-year stay at City, including two Premier League titles, and two EFL Cups, while helping the club reach its first ever Champions League final in his second year at the club. He’s also won one FA Community Shield.
Rodri said concerning City’s improvements in the last three years that he’s been at the club: “[It’s taken] dedication, everyday hard work, ambition. These kinds of things, from the top of the club, they teach us. And it’s what the players do and I love to do it that way. It’s been a sensational three years for me, as an individual and collective of course. And we want to do it again.”
The contract extension is another good piece of business done by City early enough to lock down arguably the best holding midfielder in the world, right now, and the three-year extension reduces the annual amortization cost on his transfer from £12.6million to £5million a season. City also boast another elite holding midfielder in the squad this season after acquiring England international Calvin Philips from Leeds United for £45million this summer.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Rolandhino1. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.