Manchester City Director Hugo Viana Admits Rodri is 'Irreplaceable' After Camp Nou Departure

Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana has revealed that the club made every effort to persuade Rodri to remain at the club prior to his summer transfer to Barcelona, describing the Spanish midfielder as completely irreplaceable.

Rodri finalized his move to the Spanish champions in August, putting pen to paper on a four-year contract at Camp Nou for a reported fee of £65 million plus add-ons. The transfer marked the conclusion of an illustrious seven-year spell in Manchester, during which Rodri served as the foundational pillar of Pep Guardiola's dominant squad.

During his tenure at City, Rodri secured 12 major honours, which included four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three League Cups, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2022/23 season. Most notably, he scored the decisive winning goal as City defeated Inter Milan in 2023 to claim the European crown for the very first time. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner amassed 298 appearances across seven seasons after arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for what was then a club-record £62.8 million.

Following his role in captaining Spain to World Cup success over the summer, Rodri was heavily linked with a return to his native country. He represented the most high-profile exit from the club as new manager Enzo Maresca brought in several new faces to usher in a fresh chapter at City.

Hugo Viana stated: "He was here so many years winning, and I really believe that Rodri is a Manchester City fan also. It’s another player that had to go abroad. Of course we would have liked to keep him. We were having good and positive conversations with him and his agent."

"लेकिन after the World Cup, we had a really honest conversation again and he was thinking to move and to go back to his country, and we understood that. He had brilliant years. He’s another player that we cannot replace because he’s maybe one of the best if not the best in that position now. But of course, it’s another thing that we should be proud of how we treat that player that gave so much to this club when they are thinking to move, we have also to respect that and be positive."/p>

Alongside Rodri, City also bid farewell to defender John Stones and midfielder Bernardo Silva following the expiration of their contracts. Additional squad changes saw forwards Savio and Omar Marmoush move to Tottenham Hotspur, while goalkeeper James Trafford was transferred to Leeds United. Midfielders Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders also departed, heading to Newcastle United and Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League respectively.

"It’s also our job to be prepared for those situations and try to bring another Rodri, another John, another Bernardo, to be here for the next eight, nine, 10 years," Viana added. "It was a busy summer window ... We are happy that we did those kinds of deals. They were very important deals for the club this summer and all the players were having that desire to go and to have the opportunity to play more often every week. We wish all the best to all of them, and of course we cannot forget what they did with us.">