Manchester City will hope to have Rodri back to his best and staying at the Etihad this season, but neither of those can be said for certain
Rodri looked back to his best at the World Cup
Rodri looked back to his best at the World Cup
View Image
Mateo Kovacic is a serial champion. As well as coming from a footballing nation that have regularly punched above their weight - with a second- and third-placed finish in recent World Cups - the Croatian has also won multiple league titles, Champions League crowns and Club World Cups in a career that has seen him play for Dinamo Zagreb, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and then Manchester City.
The biggest superstars in the City squad have flocked to him, from Kevin De Bruyne to Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma, and the fact that he can speak at least five languages makes him a valuable part of the dressing room. For all that his City career hasn't taken off, there's a decent case for why the club deems it worth him sticking around for the final year of his contract.
It is also worth listening to what Kovacic has to say, and a chat with reporters in Hong Kong as part of City's pre-season tour is no exception. The 32-year-old is feeling fresh for the new campaign after a difficult year that saw him need two surgeries on an Achilles problem.