Manchester City midfielder Rodri will be sidelined for a “short period of rehabilitation” after undergoing back surgery on Monday, the club has confirmed – a procedure that comes with only a year left on his contract and Real Madrid circling.
The 30-year-old, who captained Spain to World Cup glory this month and was named player of the tournament, had been “feeling discomfort for some time”, City said. New manager Enzo Maresca revealed on Friday that the operation was scheduled, adding: “He needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us.”
“Rodri undergoes back surgery with one year left on his contract and Real Madrid interest looming.”
The timing is awkward for a club already in flux. Four of the Treble-winning starters from 2022-23 – Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva and John Stones – have left this summer. City have responded by signing £116m Elliot Anderson and 17-year-old Jeremy Monga. Meanwhile, defender Josko Gvardiol has signed a new five-year deal until 2031, having made 122 appearances and won six trophies since joining in 2023.
Rodri’s past two seasons have been heavily disrupted by injury; he missed most of the 2024-25 campaign with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. When he returned from that lay-off, questions lingered about whether he would rediscover his Ballon d’Or-winning form. Pep Guardiola, the man Maresca has replaced, said last October: “In the World Cup, he will be the best Rodri, and next season he will be the best Rodri.” Guardiola was proved right on the first count: Rodri not only captained Spain to victory but won the Golden Ball as tournament’s best player.
Despite the speculation, Maresca was unequivocal. “I think every manager wants to have Rodri because he is a top player,” he said. The plan appears to be retention, not sale. But contingencies are already in place: Anderson’s presence and City monitoring 18-year-old Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who impressed for Morocco at the World Cup.
Maresca, a disciple of positional play, draws comparisons between his football and chess. “There are a lot of similarities,” he said. “The most important is positional play and strategy. For a coach, it’s important to have the mentality of a chess player: develop a plan, study counter-moves, choose the arrangement of the pieces.” His on-the-ball shape is a 3-2-2-3 – a system that could accommodate Rodri, Anderson and possibly Bouaddi, but only if the Spaniard stays.
City face Arsenal in the Community Shield on 16 August before their Premier League opener against Bournemouth on 23 August. Whether Rodri will be back in time for either remains unclear. The bigger question is whether he will be a City player at all when the transfer window closes.