Man City alarm bells will be ringing as huge contract decision looms

Manchester City have to decide whether to offer Rodri a new contract as he continues to battle fitness issues with his knee.

There have been a flurry of new contracts given out at Manchester City in the last couple of months, but perhaps the hardest decision facing Pep Guardiola and director of football Hugo Viana is what to do with Rodri.

A week ago, the 29-year-old looked to be making good progress on his return from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, starting four games in a row and completing 90 minutes in the first and last of them.

But then came the final training session on Friday before City faced Burnley, and the Spain midfielder told Guardiola that he was "in a lot of pain" in his knee and wasn't fit enough to face the Clarets. Concerningly, it was the same knee he injured in September 2024.

That injury was a year ago now, and although the recovery process from such a serious knee injury can always be complicated, alarm bells will be ringing at the Etihad.

Rodri made it back to appear in the Premier League in May, then played in the Club World Cup in June. He picked up a minor knock in the final game of that tournament, but returned to Premier League action at the end of August. Those four starts suggested he was back on the right track, but the latest bout of pain is a concern.

City will wait to see if Rodri is fit enough to train at the City Football Academy on Tuesday morning before the squad fly to Monaco for their second game of the Champions League campaign. Fingers will be crossed that the weekend setback is just a minor issue.

But the point has been reached where the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner needs to put together a run of games and a run of performances to allay the fears that suffering such a serious knee injury at this stage of his career will stop him from rediscovering his best form.

Even during those four starts against Brighton, Manchester United, Napoli, and Arsenal, Rodri wasn't at his absolute best. That is probably to be expected, but there are levels of consistency he could do with finding fairly soon.

That is pressing not only because, at his best, he is arguably City's most important player, but also because his contract will have only 18 months left to run by January. Real Madrid haven't hidden their admiration for the former Atletico Madrid player.

They could consider making their move on a free transfer in 2027 or even trying to do a deal next summer, but City aren't going to rush to hand out a new contract when Rodri has yet to show he is still the same player.

When his current contract expires, he will be 31, which makes this a difficult call. Had he never suffered that injury, Rodri would probably have signed a new deal by now. Even still, there were conversations towards the end of last year and reports that he was close to signing in the summer.

Right now, it feels like too much of a leap of faith for City. The best version of Rodri is well worth a new contract, but first, they will need to see that version.

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.