Barcelona star Rodri receives blunt response to Valencia apology

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·10 September 2026

Barcelona star Rodri receives blunt response to Valencia apology

In the last few days, FC Barcelona midfielder Rodri has been embroiled in a far-from-ideal controversy involving Valencia. The 30-year-old was caught on camera calling Los Che’s players “very weak” and “very bad”, and these comments did not go down well at the Mestalla.

Upon being made aware of that his remarks to Barcelona teammate Pau Cubarsi had been picked up by TV cameras, Rodri swiftly called up Valencia captain Jose Gaya to apologise, and after Wednesday’s victory over Feyenoord in the Champions League, he also issued a public apology to Los Che’s players and directors.

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On Thursday, Valencia head coach Carlos Corberan was asked about Rodri’s apology during his press conference. As per Sport, his response was blunt – rather than simply accepting and moving on, he made it clear that the apology was necessary because he felt the comments crossed a line.

“For me, (Rodri’s remarks were) completely unfortunate words, because I think they are not words that are born from respect for colleagues. At the time they occurred, Gayà took the initiative to have a conversation with him, and he has made a public apology that we accept – and that we understand was pertinent. In the end, even if it is in the context of a colleague, we know what we represent. We accept those apologies because we understand that they are the minimum in the face of unfortunate comments or words.”

Rodri will be desperate to close the book on this matter

Of everyone involved in this controversy, the person that feels most affected will undoubtedly be Rodri himself. The Barcelona midfielder is well-known for trying to keep out of the limelight when it comes to off-field matters, and fortunately, it does appear that Valencia will not made more of the matter that was necessary, meaning that everyone can move on now.