Rodri has defended his former club Manchester City, expressing absolute faith in their innocence against financial rule breaches and citing a successful 2020 legal challenge as proof. Speaking before an international match, the midfielder emphasized that the club’s achievements were built on collective effort rather than financial misconduct.
Former Manchester City midfielder Rodri has broken his silence on the massive financial rule case facing his former club, offering a staunch defense of the institution’s integrity. City were found guilty of breaking the vast majority of 115 financial rules accused by the Premier League, though the club is preparing an appeal.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of Spain’s UEFA Nations League fixture against England at Wembley, the 30-year-old midfielder made it clear that the playing squad remains entirely supportive of the club’s leadership and administrative structure.
Echoes of the 2020 Court of Arbitration Success
For Rodri, who moved to Barcelona in August after arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for £60 million, the current storm bears a striking resemblance to past legal battles. He pointed directly to the events of 2020, when UEFA initially handed Manchester City a two-year European ban and a €30 million fine before the Court of Arbitration for Sport completely overturned the penalty.
“We have faced something similar back in 2020, we had a similar judicial process. Different accusation but similar process. There in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and, in the end, we ended up acquitted.”
Rodri, via Vavel
That precedent established a deep reservoir of trust among the players, according to the midfielder. While the current Premier League charges span a complicated timeline—covering breaches between 2009 and 2018, alongside 35 counts of failing to cooperate with investigations between 2018 and 2023—the squad’s internal confidence has not wavered.
Defending an Era of Dominance
The financial case covers a period for the club, during which Manchester City won eight trophies, including three league titles, three League Cups, one FA Cup, and one Community Shield. Rodri also noted his central role in the subsequent era that featured three successive Champions League semi-finals, the 2023 treble triumph, and a four-peat between 2021 and 2024.
Dismissing speculation that the club could be stripped of past honors as part of any eventual punishment, the midfielder argued that on-pitch success cannot be erased by administrative fallout.
“What we did, they cannot take out of us, It’s something that is not paid by money. It’s paid with effort, with the damage, with, you know, being shoulder to shoulder every day.”
Rodri, via BBC
Faith in the Legal Process and the Club’s Structure
Rodri defended the daily operations of the organization, praising everyone from the ownership and Pep Guardiola down to the backroom staff who maintain the club’s infrastructure. He maintained that personal interactions with club leadership provided genuine reassurance.
“They always express the confidence that they never did something wrong and we believe in that,” Rodri said. “Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club. They always tell us the confidence they have on the innocence.”
Rodri, via BBC
While acknowledging that external observers will hold varied opinions on the massive case, the Spanish international insisted that the atmosphere inside the dressing room remained calm throughout the proceedings, viewing the legal friction as an eventual hurdle that the justice system will sort out.