FC Barcelona has struck one of the big blows of the summer. While Rodri seemed destined for Real Madrid – the entire Spanish press was convinced of this – the Catalan club managed to hijack the deal and get hold of the best player of the last World Cup. A big sporting blow, and also symbolic, since the Blaugrana have clearly “stolen” the player from their sworn enemy.
For his part, the player would have bet on Barça because of the team’s style of play, which he considers more compatible with his characteristics. He also wanted to play with a number of players who are his teammates in the selection and with whom he gets along quite well. For the moment, the former Manchester City and Atlético de Madrid player has had to make do with two appearances in La Liga, playing around twenty minutes against Athletic then against Rayo Vallecano. But everything indicates that he will obviously start fairly quickly.
A worrying physical state?
Only, nowEl Chiringuito de Jugones reveals some somewhat worrying information. Indeed, at Barça, we do not necessarily consider that Rodri will be an indisputable starter. Hansi Flick and his technical staff estimate that he cannot play around sixty matches per season as a starter, and that he will therefore share the starting position with Marc Bernal, with the two midfielders who will play 50/50.
It must be said that the player underwent a small back operation during the summer, which logically hampered his summer preparation a little. But the doubts concerning his physical state already dated before the World Cup and were mentioned in the debates on the Spanish selection. We can therefore imagine that the captain of La Roja will be mainly used in big matches by Hansi Flick, and that Marc Bernal, considered his successor both at Barça and in the selection, will be able to have playing time in less important La Liga matches, as is already the case at the start of the season.
