Rodri insists he ‘can’t respect’ Real Madrid after Ballon d’Or snub and cools curiosity of future transfer as Man City midfielder hails ‘unbelievable’ Pep Guardiola for extending Etihad keep

Rodri has heaped praise on Pep Guardiola‘s decision to extend his stay at Manchester City while also cooling suggestions of a future move to Real Madrid after insisting he has lost ‘respect’ for the club.

The City midfielder was crowned the best player in the world at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October in a move that caused surprise around the world with many – including Madrid – expecting Vinicius Jnr to win the accolade.

His recognition as the world’s best was celebrated by City but his absence has never been greater felt with the reigning Premier League champions drastically struggling in his absence as Rodri recovers from a long-standing injury.

The 28-year-old suffered a season-ending ACL injury just a few matches into the new season and required extensive surgery on the ligament tear that is expected to take the remainder of the season to fully heal.

Meanwhile, City are currently enduring their worst-ever run under Guardiola, losing five consecutive fixtures that has put their title defence in serious doubt and collapsing midweek against Feyenoord that could see the club fail to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

Guardiola looked set to potentially leave City at the end of the season before signing a new two-year contract extension and Rodri hailed the legendary manager as ‘unbelievable’ and praised him for being ‘influential’ on his career.

‘Pep has the desire to be better every day. He has won the lot, he doesn’t need to do this. He has this hunger to go again, which is why I am so excited he has decided to stay,’ Rodri told The Rest Is Football podcast.

‘He grabs you in his room and tells you tactics, he is always there with sessions. He demands from you and if someone doesn’t push you every day, you don’t grow.

‘He is an unbelievable worker. Of course he is the best. The titles talk by themselves but also Spain, Germany and England – he has been influential everywhere.’

Rodri’s own future at the club has also been under scrutiny after the Euro 2024 winner openly admitted that he would consider a future move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

He is currently under contract at the Etihad until 2027 by which time he will be playing in his 30s and labelled the Spanish giants as ‘the best club in history’ after being asked about interest from Madrid.

However, Madrid snubbed the Ballon d’Or ceremony that Rodri reigned victorious at after learning the City star was going to beat Brazilian winger Vinicius Jnr to the prestigious title and have since continued to criticise the decision.

Now, Rodri has hit back at Madrid’s stance and fumed that he ‘cannot respect’ the club’s sour decision to not attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.

‘I can’t describe the emotion [of winning the Ballon d’Or]. In my generation [we] only see two guys winning the trophy [Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo],’ he said.

‘I cannot respect the decision [of Madrid not to turn up to the ceremony,’ 

‘In sport and in life, it’s important to win. But I think even more how to lose, and I say always the same – it was my moment, I didn’t want to speak about others.

‘They didn’t want to be there – I want to be with my club, with my family, the people that were there and clapped me, and that was a fantastic moment,’ he added.

Rodri also revealed how he could play a part in City’s end-of-season run-in depending on the progress he continues to make with his injury rehabilitation.