Rodri deserves to be in contention to win the Ballon d'Or and has revolutionised the way people look at holding midfielders, believes Lucas Leiva.
Rodri enjoyed another magnificent campaign in 2023-24 as Manchester City retained their Premier League crown, then was named Player of the Tournament as Spain won Euro 2024.
The 28-year-old played 50 matches for City across all competitions last term, with Pep Guardiola's team only losing one of those games – versus Manchester United in May's FA Cup final.
He also contributed eight goals and nine assists in the Premier League last term, both of which represent his best figures in any league campaign.
At Euro 2024, he ranked seventh among all players for open-play passes (430) and fifth for open-play passes in the opposition half (255) as La Roja won their record-breaking fourth European title.
While former Liverpool midfielder Lucas expects Rodri to face fierce competition from Real Madrid pair Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, he feels the Spaniard deserves to be considered among the world's finest players.
"A midfield player, especially a holding midfield player, normally it is not a position that people look at so much. But it is an important role for the team," he told Stats Perform.
"It's a position where you give balance to the team. You allow people to get forward, but you also give protection to the defence. You start everything from that role.
"So, [Sergio] Busquets and now Rodri are playing a big part with Man City, but also with Spain. We could see that at the Euros.
"Of course, Rodri is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or, but I would probably say another two players: Bellingham and Vinicius. I think those three will challenge for the Ballon d'Or, and we'll have to wait and see.
"Of course, Rodri deserves it, but Bellingham and Vinicius deserve it as well for what they've done with Real Madrid and with their national teams, especially Bellingham getting to the [Euros] final.
"We will have to wait and see. But I'm happy to see a holding midfielder on the shortlist because it's a position that people don't look at too much.
"People are starting to appreciate it a little bit more."
Van Dijk focused on 'achieving greatness' in Slot's debut season
Virgil van Dijk said his Liverpool team-mates are looking to "achieve greatness" this season after maintaining Arne Slot's winning start against Manchester United.
Van Dijk has helped his side record three victories from their opening three league games without conceding for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
The Dutchman marked his 200th Premier League game for Liverpool with another commanding display, taking his tally to 140 wins in the competition, already the most wins any player has picked up in their first 200 for the club in the division.
Van Dijk recorded more touches (91) than any other player, while also winning all five of the aerial duels he contested.
He also completed 69 of his 73 attempted passes, ending the contest with a pass accuracy of 94.5% which was the highest of any player from both teams.
Slot's early tenure has been a seamless transition since Jurgen Klopp's departure at the end of last season, with Van Dijk a key cog to the German's success at Anfield.
Van Dijk won eight major honours under his former boss, and is eyeing more success in his Liverpool career under the guidance of Slot.
"What Jurgen Klopp said in one of his last interviews is the new manager inherited a very good squad. The manager left but the players didn't," Van Dijk said.
"We are not satisfied with just competing.
"We want to achieve greatness this season. I'm not competing in any competition just to compete, I want to win.
We come up against a very good team in Man City and Arsenal.
"Our consistency is looking good, after the international break could be interesting when playing every three days. I'm certainly enjoying the ride."
Neville worries for Ten Hag future after Man Utd humbled by Liverpool
Manchester United may soon lose patience with manager Erik ten Hag after another humbling by Liverpool, Red Devils' great Gary Neville said on Sunday.
Former defender Neville believes the Dutchman may only have until Christmas at Old Trafford to turn around what has been another disappointing start to the Premier League season.
United were crushed 3-0 at home to Liverpool as Mohamed Salah scored one and assisted both goals of Luis Diaz's first-half brace on the red side of Manchester.
Ten Hag is the only United manager to lose three Premier League home games by three or more goals in the space of a year, also suffering 3-0 defeats to Manchester City in October and Bournemouth in December last year.
"It's going to be a challenging week or so for Ten Hag just to get around the fact that there will be some pressure building," Neville said on Sky Sports.
"But I think he will get until Christmas. There's no doubt about that. There's no doubt that INEOS and Dan Ashworth the chief executive, who has got a sense of calm about him – the [former Manchester] City chief executive [Omar Berrada] and Dave Brailsford and those people, are not just going to do something stupid.
"Within three or four months, they have made the decision to keep him. They will get four or five months. What they can't be is mid-table come Christmas, but he is going to get a few months, there's no doubt about that."
Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher rebuffed, responding "I would be surprised if he is still in charge at the end of the season", and if results continue this way, United's hand may be forced with Ten Hag.
The former Ajax boss is also the only United manager to lose two of the three opening matches in a Premier League season on two separate occasions.
"It was a sobering day for Erik ten Hag, his players and for the new ownership sat in the stand en masse, looking at it and thinking whether they're on the right path," Neville continued.
"He's been influenced to change his team and his staff in the summer as he's brought two new coaches in. That isn't always ideal as there is new messaging coming in. There's a lot of change at the club so there was going to be a bit of pain along the way in interfering with the Glazer ownership.
"We're seeing that today and it's not going to change quickly. It's a sobering day but one that requires some calm."
Casemiro was removed at half-time, having played a woeful pass in the build-up to Diaz's opener amid a torrid first half.
Despite his early exit, the Brazil midfielder lost possession 14 times, with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui only doing so more often for United (16 each) and both playing the full game.
"Manchester United fans don't often boo," Neville added on the jeers for Ten Hag, Casemiro and under-fire Marcus Rashford. "They don't often boo the manager, they don't often boo substitutions, they don't often boo players individually. And there's been a couple of times today [where they have].
"They will boo, generally, a performance at half-time when the players are going off if they're losing 2-0. But ordinarily, they don't take out individuals and a couple of times today they have. Casemiro in the first half and then obviously referring to Rashford with that boo."
Neville worries for Ten Hag future after Man Utd humbed by Liverpool
Manchester United may soon lose patience with manager Erik ten Hag after another humbling by Liverpool, Red Devils' great Gary Neville said on Sunday.
Former defender Neville believes the Dutchman may only have until Christmas at Old Trafford to turn around what has been another disappointing start to the Premier League season.
United were crushed 3-0 at home to Liverpool as Mohamed Salah scored one and assisted both goals of Luis Diaz's first-half brace on the red side of Manchester.
Ten Hag is the only United manager to lose three Premier League home games by three or more goals in the space of a year, also suffering 3-0 defeats to Manchester City in October and Bournemouth in December last year.
"It's going to be a challenging week or so for Ten Hag just to get around the fact that there will be some pressure building," Neville said on Sky Sports.
"But I think he will get until Christmas. There's no doubt about that. There's no doubt that INEOS and Dan Ashworth the chief executive, who has got a sense of calm about him – the [former Manchester] City chief executive [Omar Berrada] and Dave Brailsford and those people, are not just going to do something stupid.
"Within three or four months, they have made the decision to keep him. They will get four or five months. What they can't be is mid-table come Christmas, but he is going to get a few months, there's no doubt about that."
Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher rebuffed, responding "I would be surprised if he is still in charge at the end of the season", and if results continue this way, United's hand may be forced with Ten Hag.
The former Ajax boss is also the only United manager to lose two of the three opening matches in a Premier League season on two separate occasions.
"It was a sobering day for Erik ten Hag, his players and for the new ownership sat in the stand en masse, looking at it and thinking whether they're on the right path," Neville continued.
"He's been influenced to change his team and his staff in the summer as he's brought two new coaches in. That isn't always ideal as there is new messaging coming in. There's a lot of change at the club so there was going to be a bit of pain along the way in interfering with the Glazer ownership.
"We're seeing that today and it's not going to change quickly. It's a sobering day but one that requires some calm."
Casemiro was removed at half-time, having played a woeful pass in the build-up to Diaz's opener amid a torrid first half.
Despite his early exit, the Brazil midfielder lost possession 14 times, with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui only doing so more often for United (16 each) and both playing the full game.
"Manchester United fans don't often boo," Neville added on the jeers for Ten Hag, Casemiro and under-fire Marcus Rashford. "They don't often boo the manager, they don't often boo substitutions, they don't often boo players individually. And there's been a couple of times today [where they have].
"They will boo, generally, a performance at half-time when the players are going off if they're losing 2-0. But ordinarily, they don't take out individuals and a couple of times today they have. Casemiro in the first half and then obviously referring to Rashford with that boo."
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