Enzo Maresca says City will seek a ‘new Rodri’ after £65m sale and Community Shield defeat
Enzo Maresca brushed off Manchester City’s sale of Rodri to Barcelona for £65m and said the club will look for a “new Rodri” after their 3-0 Community Shield defeat in Cardiff last Sunday. He acknowledged the expected criticism following the loss but insisted the squad must move on to prepare for the Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
Maresca, embarking on his first season in charge, told reporters he was not fazed by losing a player regarded as one of the world’s best No 6s and framed the task as a recruitment challenge. “How do we solve that problem? We try to find the new Rodri, it is what it is. [Before] Rodri arrived here, he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or, he didn’t win the Champions League, he didn’t win the Club World Cup. He joined the club, then he achieved many important things.”
The manager compared City’s approach to replacing key figures with past transitions at the club, saying similar changes had occurred when David Silva, Sergio [Agüero] and Fernandinho left. “Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri. I was thinking on Thursday night, when David Silva was here, everyone was worried and Kevin [De Bruyne] arrived. When Sergio [Agüero] was here, everyone was worried [when he was going to leave] and Erling [Haaland] arrived. Fernandinho? Rodri arrived. It is just about this. When they leave, you need to be good at recruiting the next one. “They are all similar, David, Kevin, Fernandinho, Rodri, Erling – it is normal, it is change, it is not a problem, go again and try to do the right things.”
On Rodri’s departure specifically, Maresca said he would follow the precedent set by his predecessor and allow a player to leave if he wished. “He can go, absolutely. If he is not happy, he is not going to perform in the right way,” he said, echoing Pep Guardiola’s previous stance on players wanting to move on.
Reflecting on the 3-0 Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, Maresca described the initial reaction as expected and said the squad refocused quickly. “It was good, and normal. It is normal that you are upset straight after the game. We were all upset,” he said. “We wanted to win, we didn’t win so it’s a normal reaction but after Tuesday we started to prepare for Bournemouth, you have to switch off one thing and focus on the next one. It was two days where we were not happy and now the focus has to be Bournemouth.”
Maresca reported satisfaction with training under his management and used an analogy to explain the adjustment period for players. “Since day one the attitude has been very good,” he said. “For them it is not easy. When you work with the same person every day then change, it changes everything. “I am an actor and I work with the same director, and we make movies for 10 years. Suddenly the director changes, me as the actor I’m still thinking in the same way as I was with the previous director but now the director is new so I need to adapt. It’s complicated, it’s not easy. It’s not an excuse but it requires a little bit of time, but we need to compete as soon as possible.”
Maresca outlined his preferred squad size and named academy players he intends to keep involved after pre-season impressed him. “We have three or four academy players that will stay with us because they impressed me in pre-season. Kaden [Braithwaite], [Floyd] Samba and Ryan McAidoo. Then, for me personally we need around 21-22 players. Around 20 players plus these three young players full of energy – we are happy.”
Manchester City travel to Bournemouth on Sunday for their Premier League opener, a match Maresca said the squad has already turned its attention to as preparations continue. "It was two days where we were not happy and now the focus has to be Bournemouth."