Rodri (footballer, born 1996)

Rodrigo Hernández Cascante (born 22 June 1996), known as Rodri or Rodrigo, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Manchester City and the Spain national team. He is considered to be one of the best players in the world and is known for his versatility, accurate passing and tactical ability.

After stints with Villarreal and Atlético Madrid in La Liga, Rodri joined Premier League club Manchester City in 2019. He helped the team win four consecutive league titles in the 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 seasons. In the 2022–23 season, he was part of the team which claimed a historic continental treble. This treble included City's first UEFA Champions League title, with Rodri scoring the only goal in the final, and being named the tournament's Player of the Season.

Rodri is a Spain international and former youth international. He made his debut for the senior national team in 2018 and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2024. He won the UEFA Nations League in 2023, being named the best player of the finals tournament, and was integral in Spain's win at Euro 2024, in which he was also named Player of the Tournament.

Early life and career
Rodrigo Hernández Cascante was born on 22 June 1996 in Madrid. He joined Atlético Madrid's youth setup in 2007 aged 11, from CF Rayo Majadahonda. Released in 2013 due to a "lack of physical strength", he subsequently signed with Villarreal.

On 7 February 2015, while still a junior, Rodri made his senior debut for the reserves, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 away win against RCD Espanyol B in the Segunda División B. He was handed his first start 15 days later, in a 2–0 victory at Real Zaragoza B.

Rodri made his first-team debut on 17 December 2015, starting in a 2–0 home win against SD Huesca for that season's Copa del Rey. His first La Liga appearance was on 17 April 2016, when he came on as a second-half substitute for Denis Suárez in a 2–1 away loss to Rayo Vallecano.

On 4 December 2017, having already established himself as a regular, Rodri renewed his contract until 2022. He scored his first goal in the Spanish top level on 18 February 2018, the opener in a 1–1 away draw against RCD Espanyol.

Atlético Madrid
On 24 May 2018, Rodri returned to Atlético Madrid after the club reached an agreement with Villarreal for his transfer. He signed a five-year contract with the club, for a fee in the region of €20 million, plus €5 million in variables. He made his debut on 15 August in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn, playing the first 71 minutes of a 4–2 extra-time win over city rivals Real Madrid.

2019–20 season: First season in England
On 3 July 2019, Manchester City met the terms of Rodri's £62.6 million release clause, enabling him to buy out the remainder of his contract with Atlético and leave the club. The transfer was a new record fee paid by Manchester City. He signed a five-year contract.

Rodri made his debut in the 2019 FA Community Shield on 4 August at Wembley Stadium, playing the full 90 minutes as City won on penalties against Liverpool after a 1–1 draw. He made his Premier League debut against West Ham United six days later in a 5–0 away win, and on 14 September he scored his first goal in a 3–2 away defeat against Norwich City.

It was announced in October 2019 that Rodri would be out for a month due to a hamstring injury. On 1 March 2020, City won the EFL Cup at Wembley Stadium for the third consecutive time, beating Aston Villa 2–1 in the final. Rodri headed in City's second goal from a corner, which ultimately turned out to be the winner.

2020–present: Further domestic success and continental treble


On 13 February 2021, Rodri scored City's first goal from a penalty in a 3–0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur. During the 2021–22 domestic campaign, Rodri had a pass completion count of 82.0 per 90 minutes and a pass completion rate of 91.8% over the course of the whole season. These numbers put Rodri at the top of all midfielders in the Premier League in both categories. Multiplying those two numbers together reveals that on average, Rodri attempted one pass every 60.5 seconds of the season, leading all Premier League midfielders in that category too, with only Liverpool's Thiago coming close.

On 12 July 2022, Rodri agreed to extend his contract with Manchester City until 2027. On 11 April 2023, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 3–0 home win over Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals first leg. On 10 June, he scored the only goal in the Champions League final against Inter Milan, securing City's win for their first title in the competition, and completing the continental treble. Rodri was named player of the match, and was selected as the tournament's Player of the Season.

On 23 September 2023, he was sent off in a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest for lashing out at Morgan Gibbs-White following a tussle, which sparked a melee. This was Rodri's first red card in the Premier League. City went on to lose each of the three subsequent games - against Wolves, Arsenal, and Newcastle - for which he was suspended. After his fifth yellow card against Tottenham, Rodri was suspended as City went on to lose the game again - that time against Aston Villa.

On 19 May 2024, Rodri would score a decisive goal into the bottom corner to ensure Manchester City's 3–1 win over West Ham on the last match day of the season; Manchester City's victory saw them become the first club in Premier League history to lift the trophy in four consecutive seasons. Additionally, he reached his 50th consecutive undefeated Premier League match with his club, placing him second only to Sol Campbell with 56 games.

International career
After playing for Spain at under-16, under-19 and under-21 levels, Rodri was first selected by the full side on 16 March 2018 for two friendlies with Germany and Argentina. He made his debut five days later, replacing Thiago Alcântara late in the 1–1 draw against Germany in Düsseldorf.

2018–2021: UEFA Nations League and UEFA Euro 2020
After missing out on selection for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Rodri was named in Spain's squad for their first two UEFA Nations League fixtures against England and Croatia in September 2018. After being an unused substitute in the first match at Wembley Stadium, he made his competitive debut as a 59th minute substitute for Sergio Busquets in the 6–0 win over Croatia on 11 September. A month later, Rodri made his first start for Spain in a 4–1 friendly win over Wales in Cardiff and was named man of the match by the BBC.

Rodri played in seven of Spain's ten matches during UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, starting in five.

On 17 November 2020, Rodri scored his first senior international goal in Spain's 6–0 defeat of Germany in their final group phase match of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. The win in Seville ensured La Roja would finish top of Group 4 and qualify for the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals in Italy.

In June 2021, he was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 finals. In the absence of captain Sergio Busquets due to COVID-19, Rodri started the team's first two matches of the tournament as they drew 0–0 with Poland and 1–1 with Sweden. With Busquets' return for the final Group E match against Slovakia, Rodri was an unused substitute in the 5–0 win that secured Spain's place in the knockout stage. In the round of 16 match against Croatia, Rodri replaced Busquets in the 102nd minute as the team won 5–3 after extra time. He again appeared as a substitute in the quarter-final draw with Switzerland, coming on for Pedri in the final minute of extra time ahead of the penalty shootout. Although Rodri's kick was saved by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Spain won the shootout 4–2 to reach the semi-final. Rodri appeared as a 70th-minute substitute for Koke as Spain drew 1–1 with Italy in the semi-final, losing 4–2 in the penalty shootout.

In October 2021, Rodri was included in Spain's squad for the Nations League finals. On 10 October, he started in Spain's 2–1 defeat against France in the final, playing 84 minutes at the San Siro in Milan.

2022–2023: 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 UEFA Nations League
Rodri was included in Spain's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was utilised as a central defender. He played the full 90 minutes in Spain's three Group E matches, where they won 7–0 against Costa Rica, drew 1–1 with Germany and lost 2–1 to Japan. In the round of 16, he played 120 minutes of the team's 0–0 draw with Morocco, as La Roja were eliminated after losing 3–0 in the penalty shootout.

After the international retirement of Sergio Busquets on 16 December 2022, Rodri succeeded him as Spain's midfield pivot. On 28 March 2023, he captained the team for the first time in their second UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier, where they lost 2–0 to Scotland at Hampden Park.

In June 2023, Rodri was named as Player of the Finals for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals. He started in both the semi-final against Italy and the final against Croatia, the latter of which Spain won via a penalty shootout, with Rodri scoring his spot kick. He was named the best player of the tournament.

On 26 March 2024, Rodri captained Spain for the second time in a friendly match against Brazil. He scored his second and third senior international goals in the 3–3 draw, both from penalty kicks.

UEFA Euro 2024
In June 2024, Rodri was named in Spain's squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. In the team's final warm-up match – a 5–1 win over Northern Ireland in Mallorca – he won his 50th cap for Spain.

In the team's opening match of the tournament, he played 86 minutes before being substituted for Martin Zubimendi as La Roja beat Croatia 3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.

Rodri helped Spain reach and win the UEFA Euro 2024 final with an outstanding tournament performance, as he was awarded the best player of the tournament. Spain defeated England 2–1 to secure their fourth European championship. In addition, he became one of 12 players who won both youth and senior Euro titles, alongside his teammates Nacho, Ferran Torres, Álvaro Morata and Mikel Merino.

Style of play
Rodri is a physically strong and tall player. His physique helps him to frequently win tackles, challenges on opponent players, as well as aerial duels. He has a 73% success rate at tackles on opponent players, and has won 100% of his aerial duels in the 2022–23 season, according to Squawka. He averages a passing accuracy of 91–92%.

Rodri is further known for his versatility and tactical intelligence. He is known for his contributions to his team's build-up play. Often used as an anchor, or water carrier, his primary role is to win back possession in midfield and distribute the ball to start counterattacks. His ability to maintain possession under pressure allows him to perform this role effectively.

In addition to his defensive abilities, Rodri also possesses accurate passing and vision, allowing him to operate as a deep-lying playmaker from the heart of the midfield. In the 2023–24 season, he was involved in more sequences of play than any other player in his team or in the Premier League. He is also known for his ability to set the tempo of the game.

Besides his regular position of a holding midfielder, he has occasionally been used as a ball-playing centre-back, in particular by national team manager Luis Enrique during the 2022 World Cup.

During his Manchester City tenure, he also worked to improve his goalscoring, and became known for his long-range shooting, which resulted in several goals, such as his match–winning goal from outside the box against Inter in 2023 UEFA Champions League Final. Despite not being particularly renowned for his pace, he has been credited by pundits for his ability to catch up with much faster attackers in midfield.

Reception
Many pundits currently consider Rodri to be one of the best defensive midfielders in world football. In January 2024, members of the ESPN FC staff debated whether Rodri was in fact that best player in the world at the moment. In March 2024, his Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described him as "the best midfield player, currently, in the world by far." That same month, The New York Times rated him as the best player in the Premier League, while former defender Rio Ferdinand believed that Rodri was already arguably the best defensive midfielder in the league's history.

Personal life
While a Villarreal youth player, Rodri studied at the Jaume I University in nearby Castellón de la Plana for four years to gain a degree in business administration and management. At university, he met his longterm girlfriend Laura, who was studying medicine.

During Spain's celebrations of their Euro 2024 victory over England, Rodri and teamate Álvaro Morata were filmed chanting "Gibraltar is Spanish". When Morata reminded him that he plays in England, Rodri replied "I don't care". The chants were labelled "rancid", "discriminatory", and "hugely offensive to Gibraltans" by the Government of Gibraltar and led to an official complaint to UEFA by the government and the Gibraltar Football Association. An investigation was opened 19 July.

International

 * Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Rodri goal

Honours
Atlético Madrid
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2018

Manchester City
 * Premier League: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * FA Cup: 2022–23; runner-up: 2023–24
 * EFL Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * FA Community Shield: 2019
 * UEFA Champions League: 2022–23; runner-up: 2020–21
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2023
 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2023

Spain U19
 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2015

Spain U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2017

Spain
 * UEFA European Championship: 2024
 * UEFA Nations League: 2022–23; runner-up: 2020–21

Individual
 * UEFA Champions League Player of the Season: 2022–23
 * UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2022–23
 * Premier League Goal of the Month: November 2021
 * UEFA Nations League Finals Player of the Tournament: 2023
 * PFA Team of the Year: 2022–23 Premier League
 * FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2023
 * IFFHS Men's World Team: 2023
 * Globe Soccer Awards Best Midfielder of the Year: 2023
 * The Athletic European Men's Team of the Season: 2023–24
 * UEFA European Championship Player of the Tournament: 2024
 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2024