Rodri
Rodri's return to action for Manchester City could be huge this season
It's shaping up to be quite a battle at the top in the Premier League next season. Liverpool have broken the British transfer record after winning the title, Arsenal are finally signing a striker amid a huge spending spree, and Chelsea have just won the Club World Cup in style to lay down their own marker.
Even Tottenham are beginning to loosen the purse strings and calling the battle for the top four and the title race right now looks difficult. Manchester City enjoyed a head start with their , signing Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.
Since then, their rivals have also spent heavily. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham are all on course to outspend , and given the size of Pep Guardiola's squad, it's possible that incomings are already over at the Etihad.
But amid all the transfer analysis and the questions and predictions ahead of next season, City's biggest game changer might not be a new signing at all. When the focus has turned to the ins and outs and the cash being spent in the Premier League, it's easy to forget City spent almost all of last season without .
At least it's easy for neutrals to forget. City supporters know just how important their defensive midfielder is and how costly his absence proved to be as last season turned into one of toil.
After all, this is a player who won the Ballon d'Or. With other teams spending big, today might be a timely reminder of the player City are getting back, and one who might feel like a new signing.
It's been a year since Spain won the Euro 2024 final, and although Rodri went off at half-time against England, he was still named player of the tournament. It capped another unforgettable season for a player who must have forgotten what it felt like to lose.
It's worth a reminder that City have lost one of the last 76 games that the 29-year-old has started for them, and that was the FA Cup final to Manchester United in 2024. In the Premier League, the last time City lost without Rodri in the starting XI was February 5, 2023, when Tottenham beat them 1-0.
That is 52 Premier League games without defeat for the Blues when Pep Guardiola has been able to pick Rodri, which equates to well over a season's worth of games. It is an astonishing record.
At his best, Rodri dictates match after match for this team. His ability to shut down counterattacks protects City from the threats they were exposed to so often last season.
Of course, we don't know whether the drop-off the team experienced last season would have happened with Rodri available anyway, but it's a fair assumption that it certainly wouldn't have been as bad.
The other unknown is how the midfielder will return. It can take players a while to shake off the effects of anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and Rodri limped out of the final Club World Cup campaign after feeling some discomfort. It didn't look like a serious injury, but there might be the odd muscle twinge during his return to action, and he will need to build up towards 90 minutes.
But in a summer when Florian Wirtz has signed for Liverpool and Victor Gyokeres is on his way to Arsenal, City's biggest change from one season to the next might be a player they spent £62million on - six years ago.
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
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To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.
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