Rodri defends Man City legacy after guilty verdict reports: 'They cannot take it from us'

Rodri has defended Manchester City’s trophy-laden era and maintained his belief in the club’s innocence, speaking at Wembley on Friday evening after reports emerged that City had been found guilty on all but one of the 115 Premier League financial charges laid against them in February 2023.

The Spain and Barcelona midfielder, who left the Etihad Stadium last summer, addressed the news directly at a press conference ahead of Spain’s Nations League opener against England. He drew a parallel with City’s successful appeal against a Uefa two-year European ban in 2020, when the club were initially found guilty before being acquitted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“We have faced something similar back in 2020, we had a similar judicial process,” Rodri said. “Different accusation but similar process. There as well in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and in the end we ended up acquitted. So, I believe in the justice system, and I believe in the innocence of the club.”

City have consistently and strenuously denied the charges, and a club spokesperson said on Friday that “significant elements” of their legal case with the Premier League are still to be completed. The potential sanctions in this case, however, could be severe, with questions being raised about the legitimacy of the club’s achievements during their dominant run in English football.

Rodri was unmoved by that framing. “For us, the players, it is a different thing,” he said. “When you live that club daily and the people who have worked hard all these years to have all the success we had — not only Pep [Guardiola] and the players but all the structure, from the owners to the guys who worked daily — what we did, they cannot take it out of us.”

“It is something that is not paid by money, it is paid with effort, with partnership and with being shoulder to shoulder every day. We had a lot of success over the years and here in Wembley, so I can tell you everything was deserved and I’m glad I could live one of the best eras of English football.”

Rodri also indicated that City’s hierarchy had consistently communicated confidence in their position. “They always tell us the confidence they have in their innocence,” he said, “and when you look into someone’s eyes and talk in that way…” — leaving the thought unfinished but the meaning clear.