Nico Gonzalez raves about Manchester City star who has helped him adjust to life in England | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez has extolled the virtues of Ballon d’Or holder Rodri for being as complete a midfielder as he has ever seen.

Gonzalez was one of four signings made by the 2023 treble winners in January as Pep Guardiola looked to alleviate mounting injury issues in his most challenging season as a manager.

The 23-year-old arrived from Porto for a reported fee of £50 million as cover for Rodri, who spent nearly the entirety of the recent season recovering from an ACL injury sustained against Arsenal in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League in September 2024.

Rodri picked up the Ballon d’Or in Paris on crutches in November 2024 and after a patient road to fitness, the Spain international made his long-awaited return to action against Bournemouth in May.

The 29-year-old replaced Erling Haaland in the closing stages of Kevin De Bruyne’s final home appearance in a Manchester City shirt, adding numbers in defence after Mateo Kovacic was shown a straight red card in the 3-1 win.

Gonzalez and Rodri are part of the Manchester City squad currently playing in the United States as Guardiola and co look to bring home the FIFA Club World Cup after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Gonzalez has given a peak through the curtain into his first six months in the Manchester City dressing room and what it has been like to train alongside the world’s best midfielder.

Quizzed on whether he thought Rodri is as good as he thought he would be, Gonzalez said: “Even better. I try to see all the passes the players don’t see and take as much from him as I can.”

Rodri came off the bench in Manchester City’s opening Club World Cup win over Wydad AC last week and could make his first start in nine months at some point in the competition. “He (Rodri) was here in America at the Super Bowl (when Nico joined) and had a couple of weeks off,” Gonzalez added.

“He (Rodri) helps me a lot – he is Spanish and we are starting to have a good relationship.

“He (Rodri) has been (back) a couple of months; he is an amazing player and really good in everything that can be good in a midfielder.

“I am trying to learn the most I can and I think I am starting to watch him (Rodri) at his best level. I am seeing things that I haven’t seen in a lot of midfielders.”