Joining Manchester City wasn’t an easy decision, admits Rodri
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Rodrigo Hernandez has admitted that choosing to join Manchester City wasn’t as easy as everybody thought. The midfielder signed for the Cityzens over the summer from Atletico Madrid for a club record fee and has in the process become a key star for Pep Guardiola playing in nearly every game so far.
Released by Atletico Madrid at the age of 17, Rodrigo Hernandez had a rather tough start to life as a footballer but all that changed once he signed for Villarreal. There the Spaniard flourished learning from Bruno Soriano all the while studying business at a university. His performances there were so impressive that Atletico Madrid opted to re-sign him for a fee of just €25 million. It was far from the perfect fit for either player or manager but the Spaniard still managed to flourish yet again doing exceptionally well in his only season with the club.
That earned him a move to Manchester City, touted as the man to fix the club’s midfield, and despite the Cityzens’ struggles so far the 23-year-old has excelled. But he has taken a few weeks to adjust to a new league and Rodri has admitted that it has been far from an easy transition. In an interview, the Spaniard went on add that it’s a stark difference between the La Liga and the Premier League, which is why it has taken him this long to slot into the team.
“You never know what the difference will be. I needed the first few weeks to adapt; I realised that you don't have a second to think. The way the referees is a bit different, too. It's always a question of learning, playing, seeing. The first few games, I would play with my body, falling [if an opponent clashed with me], but the referee doesn't [give it]. So you don't do it again,” he told ESPN.
"That's important. You learn. In terms of quality, they're the best two leagues in the world and I need to adapt. It's not so much physical as the rhythm, the pace. The play is more physical in that sense; it's more box-to-box, you never stop and play the game, it's always run. It's a new type of football, and you have to adapt.”
Touted to be the man that Manchester City’s midfield needed to move forward, the Spaniard has done relatively well replacing Fernandinho. But the transition could have been made a little easier, as Rodri was thrown to the wolves after injuries saw the Brazilian play more as a center-back alongside Nicolas Otamendi. However, with Manchester City losing two games already the Spaniard went on to admit that the club has to be calm and solve their problems as they move forward.
“I won my first title as soon as I arrived [Community Shield], so that was good. I think people have to be aware that there is a lot happening: we have had a lot of players out, it is difficult because we play every three days in three competitions and we are playing with more or less the same players. What's done is done.
"We have to realise that we are doing things wrong, and we have to fix it. We have to be calm: it's the start of the season, we have recognised that we have had our problems, and we improve. Also, in football there are many things you can't control. We hope we can get important players [back from injury] and when they do, that will be good for the team,” concluded the midfielder.
