Manchester City superstar Rodri has claimed that he will take a break at some point during the remainder of the season. The midfielder made the admission following his club’s thrilling Champions League draw against Real Madrid. The two sides traded blows throughout the match, as the fixture eventually ended in a 3-3 draw.

Rodri played 90 minutes in the big game, his third appearance in all competitions in just six days. City is currently scheduled to play nine total matchups in 28 days throughout April. The recent Real draw was only the third of these fixtures.

After the enthralling affair, Rodri spoke on how Real may have had an edge in the fixture due to having extra rest before the game. The Spanish side did not play for nine days leading up to the match. “The media has spoken about rest and it’s important,” claimed the midfielder.

“They were a bit fresher in the first half than us, it’s normal. But I think the mentality of the team to go against them and come back with those goals sums up the mentality of the champions we are.”

“I do need a rest,” continued Rodri. “Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. [Rest] is something we are planning, yeah.”

City has not won a game without midfielder in the squad since 2022

Rodri has now played 3,498 total minutes in 41 matches on the season. This is currently the 23rd-most minutes of any player in Europe’s top five leagues. Nevertheless, just three other players from these divisions have made more appearances in starting lineups than Rodri. Two of these players happen to be goalkeepers as well.

The dynamic midfielder has become City’s most important player. While superstar duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne receive most of the attention, Pep Guardiola’s side has shown they can win without the tandem. Winning without Rodri, however, has been significantly more difficult. City has lost all four fixtures this season where the Spaniard was unavailable.

Although the star admitted to needing rest, City is still currently alive in three major competitions. The reigning European champions previously collected Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup titles last year and can complete a rare repeat in all three tournaments this season. Nevertheless, this feat would be difficult without Rodri.

City coach may opt to rest Rodri for next Premier League fixture

Guardiola will now have the tough task of selecting a match (or matches) that he feels confident in without Rodri. City is currently just one point out of the Premier League title race and will need to keep pace with Arsenal and Liverpool. Saturday’s upcoming matchup with Luton Town would seemingly be a logical spot to give his star a well-earned rest. The newly promoted side, however, has shown to give good teams a solid fight throughout the current campaign.

City’s manager was probably hoping that his club could have handled Real on Tuesday to potentially rest Rodri for the return leg. Nevertheless, the draw now means that Guardiola will need all of his key players fit for the second leg in Manchester on April 17th.

This could mean that Rodri may very well miss the FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea three days later. Possibly resting such a crucial player in a cup semifinal against a rival would certainly be a gamble though. Guardiola may have to potentially sacrifice the competition to be in a better place to collect more important trophies.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.