'Top player' Rodri's Barca move a 'win-win', says Man Ciy boss Maresca

Enzo Maresca thanked "top player" Rodri for his contributions during his trophy-laden stint with Manchester City, though he believes the deal is a "win-win" for both parties. 

Rodri completed his reported €76.5m (£65m) move to Barcelona on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on a stellar time in Manchester under Pep Guardiola's guidance. 

He moved to the Etihad Stadium seven years ago from Atletico Madrid, going on to make 298 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 28 goals in that time. 

The 30-year-old won 13 major honours with the Citizens, including their maiden Champions League title in 2022-23, where he scored the winning goal against Inter in the final. 

Rodri has also picked up accolades on the international stage with Spain while playing for City, winning the European Championships in 2024 before leading La Roja to glory at this summer's World Cup, where he also scooped the Golden Ball award. 

He also won the Ballon d'Or two years ago, and though Maresca will not get the chance to work with him during his first season in charge of City, he wished Rodri well in his new adventure, citing the transfer will benefit all parties in the future. 

"Rodri is a top player," Maresca told Sky Sports. "Any club or manager wants to work with Rodri. The reason why is that he is a top player.

"There is no way to continue, and it is normal that the player takes a different decision, a different way or path. It is a moment of change.

"Rodri, Bernardo [Silva], John [Stones], [Nathan] Ake. We will see what happens in the [transfer] window. Very happy to start this journey.

"All the fans, the club, are all thankful to Rodri. But I also think it is a win-win. 

"The club will be thankful to Rodri and Rodri has to be thankful to the club and the fans. Win for win!"

Rodri was an influential figure for City, and his absence was felt during the 2024-25 season when he missed the majority of the campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he sustained against Arsenal. 

Since the 30-year-old's arrival in July 2019, City have a 71.5% win rate with him on the pitch and lost just 36 matches when he was playing.

By contrast, they lost 30 matches when he was not involved, with their win percentage dropping to 63.3% across those 120 games.

Only Bernardo Silva (356) and Phil Foden (333) played more games than Rodri in all competitions during his time in Manchester, but he was at the top of the rankings for passes (24,442), successful passes (22,466) and touches (27,658). 

It looks set to be a busy end to the transfer window for City, who announced on Wednesday that Tijjani Reijnders had joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah. 

Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille are of reported interest to City, but no official bids have been made, as per reports.