It’s been hard to put your finger on who is Manchester City’s best player for a while now.
Of course, there are a few contenders for the crown.
Rodri is the current Ballon d’Or holder, and many believe Rodri is the best player in the world.
However, at the same time, Phil Foden is the current holder of the PFA Player of the Year award, so, by his peers, he was deemed to be better than Rodri last year.
Meanwhile, this season, Erling Haaland has been the only City player up to scratch according to some.
Away from those three, Kevin De Bruyne is arguably City’s greatest ever player.
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Speaking to TNT Sports, Joe Hart has been asked to name who he now believes to be Manchester City’s best player, and the goalkeeper gave his honest thoughts.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Joe Hart names Manchester City’s best player
Hart was asked to name who he thinks is his former club’s best player.
The former goalkeeper stated that he thinks Rodri is City’s best player, putting him ahead of the likes of Haaland, De Bruyne and Foden.
Haaland has been flying the flag for City this season, but make no mistake about it, Rodri is City’s main man.
Rodri has been out injured for the majority of this season, and it’s no coincidence that City’s form has dipped massively in this campaign while the Spaniard has been out of action.
Manchester City record with and without Rodri
Whether or not Rodri is Manchester City’s best player is up for debate, but what isn’t debateable is the fact that he’s City’s most important player.
Indeed, City have gone from being the four-in-a-row champions of England to hanging onto a place in the top four this season, and the only thing that has really changed in that time is the absence of Rodri.
City’s stats with and without the Spaniard over the years tells the whole story.
|Manchester City record with Rodri|Manchester City record without Rodri*|
|---|---|---|
|260|Games|59|
|192|Wins|28|
|39|Draws|8|
|29|Losses|23|
*Premier League and Champions League only
City’s win percentage plummets when Rodri isn’t in the team, and, ultimately, that shows just how important he is.
Does Rodri score goals the way Erling Haaland does? No. Does he beat a man the way Phil Foden can? No. Does he pass the ball in the same way Kevin De Bruyne does? No, but he brings so much to this team that no other player can replicate, and that arguably does make him the best player in the side.
City will be hoping to get back to their best next season, and they’ll have a greater chance of making that happen upon Rodri’s return.