Rodri: More to Come After Barcelona Start

Rodri has started well at Barcelona, and those who worked with him during his best seasons at Manchester City say the real peak is still to come, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The 30-year-old midfielder has not had a normal pre-season. He had done no pre-season training at all when the campaign began.

Hansi Flick left him out of the opening fixture at Elche, won 0-5, and used him only as a substitute against Athletic (2-0) and Rayo (5-2). Since then Rodri has started, but Flick has finished the job for him more often than not: he went the distance only in the tighter results against Levante (2-4) and Sevilla (1-3), and was taken off at the hour mark against Valencia (0-5) and Racing (7-2), then in the 83rd minute against Feyenoord in the Champions League (5-1).

Rodri is averaging 62.71 minutes per appearance, leads the squad with nine recoveries, and he has completed 94.2% of his passes across seven official matches.

Whether the rotation policy holds as he sharpens his fitness and adapts to Flick’s tactical setup remains to be seen.