Drama about city star Rodri
First he threatened to go on strike, then his cruciate ligament tore
September 23, 2024, 8:20 p.m
Rodri recently warned about the high level of stress on football professionals. Now the Spanish international from Manchester City has apparently been seriously injured and is in danger of being out for a long time. That would be a bitter setback for Pep Guardiola’s team.
English football champions Manchester City will probably have to do without their midfield strategist Rodri for a long time. The 28-year-old is said to have sustained an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in the top game against Arsenal FC (2-2) at the weekend, ESPN and the Spanish sports daily “Marca” reported this. Rodri only played his second game of the current Premier League season against the Gunners. The Spaniard had already missed the start of the new season with a thigh injury.
Rodri, who was voted the best player of the tournament when the Spanish national team won the European Championship in the summer, complained last week about the excessive pressure in football and even threatened a strike. “I think we’re close to it,” the European champion emphasized at the press conference before City’s Champions League opener against Inter Milan (0-0): “If it continues like this, we have no other choice. We are the players, who suffer from the busy schedule.”
“It’s five to twelve”
Rodri’s statements triggered a huge international response. “When players start talking about strikes, you know it’s five to twelve,” said Dortmund coach Nuri Şahin last Friday, referring to his prominent colleagues Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola: “Jürgen and Pep have been complaining about this for years , and nothing has changed. I feel like the more we talk about it, the more we play.”
When he threatened to strike, Rodri had calculated that the new Champions League format and the reformed Club World Cup would result in “70 or 80 games”. A little later, Guardiola also sided with his protégé. He warned that a strike was not out of the question. “All over the world players are starting to talk about it, we’ll see,” he had said. Rodri explained that “40 to 50 games” was the maximum for him, and beyond that “the level drops.” Bayern coach Kompany could only agree with him. “As a player, I demanded that a maximum number of games be set that a player could complete,” said the Belgian.
For team manager Pep Guardiola’s team, a long-term absence of Rodri would be a bitter setback. The Premier League is aiming for its fifth championship in a row, and City also wants to win the premier league again after 2023.
