Manchester City, Spain international and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in world football.
Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, better known as Rodri, is a midfielder for Manchester City and the Spanish national team.
Previously, he has played for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, having started his youth career at Rayo Majadahonda.
Rodri is a defensive midfielder known for his technical ability on the ball and his influence in breaking up play.
After being released from the Atletico Madrid academy in 2013 due to a “lack of physical strength”, he signed for Villarreal and his performances convinced Atletico to buy him back in 2018.
After the 2018/19 season, Manchester City activated Rodri’s £62.6million release clause to sign the player.
In his four seasons at City he has lifted a pile of trophies including four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and he also scored the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final.
Manchester City signed Rodri on 3 July 2019. The £62.6million fee was City’s transfer record until they paid a reported £64million for Ruben Dias.
With Fernandinho covering at centre-back, as an option to replace the departed Vincent Kompany, Rodri was signed to add another holding midfielder to Manchester City’s ranks.
Rodri’s debut season for Manchester City, 2019/20, was one of highs and lows. He impressed personally, but City disappointed as they were well-beaten to the Premier Legaue title by Liverpool. They did, however, win the League Cup, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final with Rodri starting in midfield.
He played 52 matches in all competitions and scored four goals, winning the League Cup. However, City lost their Premier League title to Liverpool and were eliminated by Olympique Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The FA Cup brought another disappointment, though, with Rodri a second half substitute as City lost to Arsenal in the final.
In 2020//21 , Rodri added a Premier Legaue winners’ medal to his growing collection of honours.
The Spanish ace feature in 46 games in all competitions for the Citizens, with them winning 34 of those.
City also reached the finals of the League Cup, which they won, and the Champions League, which they lost, although Rodri featured in neither.
Manchester City signed Rodri on 3 July 2019. The £62.6million fee was City’s transfer record until they paid a reported £64million for Ruben Dias.
With Fernandinho covering at centre-back, as an option to replace the departed Vincent Kompany, Rodri was signed to add another holding midfielder to Manchester City’s ranks.
Rodri’s debut season for Manchester City, 2019/20, was one of highs and lows. He impressed personally, but City disappointed as they were well-beaten to the Premier Legaue title by Liverpool. They did, however, win the League Cup, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final with Rodri starting in midfield.
He played 52 matches in all competitions and scored four goals, winning the League Cup. However, City lost their Premier League title to Liverpool and were eliminated by Olympique Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The FA Cup brought another disappointment, though, with Rodri a second half substitute as City lost to Arsenal in the final.
In 2020//21 , Rodri added a Premier Legaue winners’ medal to his growing collection of honours.
The Spanish ace feature in 46 games in all competitions for the Citizens, with them winning 34 of those.
City also reached the finals of the League Cup, which they won, and the Champions League, which they lost, although Rodri featured in neither.
Rodri added three more Premier League titles in 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and his first FA Cup in 2023. But his crowning glory came in the 2023 Champions League final.
Rodri added three more Premier League titles in 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and his first FA Cup in 2023. But his crowning glory came in the 2023 Champions League final.
He was was selected as the official player of the tournament at Euro 2024, which Spain won beating England 2-1 in the final.
In October 2024, Rodri was named as the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or winner.
After leaving Atletico Madrid’s academy in 2013, Rodri moved to Villarreal.
In December 2015, Rodri made his first-team debut against SD Huesca in the Copa del Rey. he soon established himself as a first team regular and did enough to convince Atletico to sign him back for a reported €25million.
Manchester City signed Rodri on 3 July 2019. The £62.6million fee was City’s transfer record until they paid a reported £64million for Ruben Dias.
With Fernandinho covering at centre-back, as an option to replace the departed Vincent Kompany, Rodri was signed to add another holding midfielder to Manchester City’s ranks.
Rodri’s debut season for Manchester City, 2019/20, was one of highs and lows. He impressed personally, but City disappointed as they were well-beaten to the Premier Legaue title by Liverpool. They did, however, win the League Cup, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final with Rodri starting in midfield.
He played 52 matches in all competitions and scored four goals, winning the League Cup. However, City lost their Premier League title to Liverpool and were eliminated by Olympique Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The FA Cup brought another disappointment, though, with Rodri a second half substitute as City lost to Arsenal in the final.
In 2020//21 , Rodri added a Premier Legaue winners’ medal to his growing collection of honours.
The Spanish ace feature in 46 games in all competitions for the Citizens, with them winning 34 of those.
City also reached the finals of the League Cup, which they won, and the Champions League, which they lost, although Rodri featured in neither.
Rodri added three more Premier League titles in 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and his first FA Cup in 2023. But his crowning glory came in the 2023 Champions League final.
Rodri rejoined Atletico Madrid after the 2017/18 season and made his first team debut in the UEFA Super Cup win against Real Madrid.
Rodri played a total of 47 matches for Atletico Madrid in all competitions during the course of 2018/19, scoring three goals. Atletico finished second in La Liga, 11 points behind Barcelona.
Manchester City signed Rodri on 3 July 2019. The £62.6million fee was City’s transfer record until they paid a reported £64million for Ruben Dias.
With Fernandinho covering at centre-back, as an option to replace the departed Vincent Kompany, Rodri was signed to add another holding midfielder to Manchester City’s ranks.
Rodri’s debut season for Manchester City, 2019/20, was one of highs and lows. He impressed personally, but City disappointed as they were well-beaten to the Premier Legaue title by Liverpool. They did, however, win the League Cup, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final with Rodri starting in midfield.
He played 52 matches in all competitions and scored four goals, winning the League Cup. However, City lost their Premier League title to Liverpool and were eliminated by Olympique Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The FA Cup brought another disappointment, though, with Rodri a second half substitute as City lost to Arsenal in the final.
In 2020//21 , Rodri added a Premier Legaue winners’ medal to his growing collection of honours.
The Spanish ace feature in 46 games in all competitions for the Citizens, with them winning 34 of those.
City also reached the finals of the League Cup, which they won, and the Champions League, which they lost, although Rodri featured in neither.
Rodri added three more Premier League titles in 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and his first FA Cup in 2023. But his crowning glory came in the 2023 Champions League final.
The Spanish midfielder tucked home City’s winner as they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final and completed the treble in Istanbul.
Rodri said: “I think it was the only time I went forward in the game because Inter were so narrow and I wanted to make sure the two strikers weren’t comfortable.
“In that moment I just saw the space. In the first moment I thought about shooting strong but then I realised there were six or seven players in the goal area and I was like, ‘no, I’m going to put it inside the first post’.
“The end result was incredible but there was half an hour still to go so it was a big effort from all of us.
“We deserve this. What a season. We deserve it.”
Rodri was named Champions League player of the year by UEFA after the final and also selected in the team of the season.
Rodri played in all but one of City’s Champions League matches in the 2022/23 season, with the Champions League final match-winner his second goal in the tournament during the campaign.