Rodri spent eight years at Manchester City and was asked about the verdict against them the moment he sat down in front of the cameras at Wembley. His answer was that he still believes the club did nothing wrong, and that he intends to keep believing it until somebody proves otherwise.
The 30-year-old, who left for Barcelona in August after 298 appearances for City, was speaking before Spain's Nations League fixture against England. City have been found guilty of breaching the majority of the 115 financial rules the Premier League accused them of breaking, and are preparing an appeal.
"They always tell us the confidence they have"
"They always express the confidence that they never did something wrong and we believe in that," Rodri said. "Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club. They always tell us the confidence they have on the innocence."
He reached for 2020 as his reason. City were cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that year of separate financial fair play charges, having first been handed a two-year ban from European competition by Uefa. "We had the example of 2020 that the process was the same and at the end nothing happened," he said. "Different accusation but similar process. There as well in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and in the end we ended up acquitted."
On the idea of stripped titles
City won eight trophies during the period the Premier League case covers: three league titles, three League Cups, an FA Cup and a Community Shield. Whether any of them can be taken back is one of the questions now hanging over the club, and Rodri gave that idea very short shrift.
"What we did, they cannot take out of us," he said. "It's something that is not paid by money. It's paid with effort, with the damage, with, you know, being shoulder to shoulder every day. I can tell you that everything was deserved, and I'm glad that I could live one of the best eras of English football in here."
Read it before you judge it
A note of caution came from an unexpected direction. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told ITV Granada that people ought to go through the independent commission's report properly before deciding what it means.
"I would have to look at the report of the independent commission, and people shouldn't jump to those kinds of conclusions," he said. "I know this has been a long process between the club and the Premier League. I think it has been quite a contested process. So I don't think it's as simple as jumping to conclusions. I think we would all need to study the independent commission's report in some considerable detail before reaching any conclusions."
Rodri, at least, has made up his mind. Everyone else is waiting to see what the appeal produces.
Context: Rodri, 30, made 298 appearances for Manchester City between 2018 and 2026 before joining Barcelona in August. City have been found guilty of breaching the majority of 115 Premier League financial charges and are set to appeal. They were cleared of separate FFP charges by CAS in 2020.
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