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Rodri is one of the best footballers on the planet and is finally ensuring an often-overlooked position getting the praise it deserves.
Though the 30-goal strikers, dazzling dribbles and superb passers may get the bulk of the credit for Manchester City’s success, none of it would have happened without Rodri.
The thread that stitches Pep Guardiola’s team together, Rodri is City’s most important player and it’s telling how crucial he is when he is not on the pitch.
Rodri has won all there is to win and is at the pinnacle of the game but, unlike most footballers, he doesn’t bask in his glory and show off to the world.
Off the football pitch, not much is known about City’s modest midfield maestro but we’ve answered all your most frequently asked questions below.
Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, known as Rodri, was born on June 22, 1996 in Madrid, Spain.
As of April 2024, he is 27 years old.
Rodri stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall (191cm), is right-footed and weighs 82kg, according to TNT Sports.
He uses his sizeable frame to help win duels against opponents in the air and on the ground.
Rodri is a rare specimen in football, and life in general, as he doesn’t have any public social media, neither an X or Instagram account.
When asked by Marca about not having social media or any tattoos, he said: “Yes, I’m a normal boy, nothing else.
“For me it is important, in the world we live in, to keep our feet on the ground. I
” have always been very normal, it’s my way of being and this is the life I want to lead.”
Rodri is in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend Laura, who also doesn’t have social media.
According to The Sun, the pair met at university in Spain where Rodri earned a degree in Management and Business administration while Laura studied medicine as she trained to become a surgeon.
Rodri is one of Manchester City’s highest earners as he takes home a weekly wage of £220,000 a week and he has done since signing a new deal in July 2022.
Only six players earn more than Rodri at the club, with him taking home £11.7m a year before tax.
Rodri’s contract does not expire until June 30, 2027.
Rodri joined Atletico Madrid when he was 11 years old before being released in his late teens but his career would take him back to the club.
Manchester City paid a transfer fee of £62.5m to sign Rodri from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes played |
| 2019/20 | 52 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 3,709 |
| 2020/21 | 53 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3,990 |
| 2021/22 | 46 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 3,928 |
| 2022/23 | 56 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 4,476 |
| 2023/24 | 41 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 3,498 |
| TOTAL | 248 | 25 | 28 | 46 | 1 | 19,601 |
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes played |
| Villarreal | 84 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 5,608 |
| Atletico Madrid | 47 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3,675 |
| Caps | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes played |
| 49 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3,329 |
Rodri wears the No.16 for Manchester City and has done so since he signed for the club. He also wears the number for Spain.
Rodri is, by some distance, the most important cog in Guardiola’s machine, so much so that the team struggles to function without him in it.
The Spaniard protects the City back-line from quick turnovers as well as dictates the tempo in midfield with his near-faultless distribution.
Rodri is so good that he now hasn’t lost a game for City since a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on February 5, 2023.
That’s well over a year and a remarkable 67 matches without tasting defeat.
A ridiculous record made even more impressive by the fact City have lost the four games for which Rodri was suspended for this season.
Rodri earned the first red card of his career in the 2023/24 season after being sent off against Nottingham Forest.
The midfielder got into a shoving match with Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and wrapped a hand around his throat.
It was only a minor skirmish but Gibbs-White took his opportunity, going down clutching his face after the altercation and getting him dismissed.
Rodri has gone down in the City history books for all time as he scored the winning goal in their first Champions League final triumph.
City were struggling against a stubborn Inter but then the Spaniard took matters into his own hands by blasting home from just inside the box.
Not only did the goal secure the elusive Champions League trophy but it ensured the Blues became the second English team to win the treble.
City defeated Everton 1-0 in a closely contested game in February 2022, with Phil Foden getting the late winner.
However, the game was marred by controversy as Rodri got away with a handball in his own box when he misjudged the flight of the ball and it came off his arm.
But a penalty wasn’t given on the pitch nor by VAR, leaving Everton furious.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports at the time: “It is a penalty, no doubt.
“I think the VAR inspected it for too long. Paul Tierney is looking through players, he can’t see the incident and Rodri is covering him. I think this should have been a VAR decision.
“There are a couple of angles that may have affected the decision.”
The midfield stalwart caused some controversy in March 2023, when playing an international fixture for Spain against Norway.
He came up against Arsenal captain and rival Martin Odegaard and made a terrible, studs-up challenge on the playmaker in the box.
Again, Rodri managed to avoid giving away a penalty but Odegaard was fuming afterwards.
“I’m pretty sure I should have had a penalty,” Odegaard told TV2, via the Manchester Evening News.
“He’s coming with his studs right on my ankle. But I’m sure I’ll get punished [if I say anymore].
“I don’t bother saying anything else about the referee. It’s better not to say anything.”
After City’s win over Inter in Istanbul, Jack Grealish led the players in a chant of ‘Rodri’s on fire’ to the tune of ‘Freed from Desire’ by G. Rizzatto.
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