As the Premier League announced the list of eight nominees to receive the Player of the Season award on Thursday, Rodri’s absence did not go unnoticed. The Spaniard, undefeated in 71 games with Manchester City, was on paper a legitimate candidate for the award.
Without him, Manchester City falters. Rodri, since his arrival within Pep Guardiola’s collective, has made himself indispensable. This season, excluding penalty shootouts, the Skyblues have lost four matches and it was each time when the Spaniard was absent. In fact, Rodri is even undefeated with Manchester City since February 2023, 71 consecutive matches.
However, on Thursday, he was the notable absentee from the list of eight players named by the Premier League to receive the player of the season award. Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Virgil Van Dijk, Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak are present, but it is the Spanish midfielder’s omission that ultimately becomes the main talking point.
“Everyone knows how strong he is.”
“Everyone knows how strong he is,” former player Darren Bent told talkSPORT. “It’s a joke he’s not there. He should be on this list.” Even among his own teammates, Rodri seemed more legitimate than Haaland, who is having a mixed season, littered with goals but also criticism of his contribution to the game and in big matches.
A few days ago, the British Journalists Association awarded its Footballer of the Year award, placing Rodri in third place, behind Foden and Rice. A place undoubtedly more appropriate for the Spaniard, whom his coach Pep Guardiola describes as “the best midfielder in the world, currently, by far”.
