Rodri can expect Man City reaction after Real Madrid transfer reality

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Manchester City midfielder Rodri should stop playing dumb but knows what he can expect at the Etihad

For the second time in a month, Rodri finds himself as the hapless victim to a vicious media who go out of their way to make stories about him. All he does is give them his time and his answers and they have the audacity to broadcast exactly what he has said to the world.

To say that Rodri is an intelligent man, the Manchester City midfielder is being deliberately ignorant again as he picks an easy target. Just like his FA charge, trying to blame the media for reporting exactly what was said only works because everyone would rather blame 'the media' - this homogenous entity that doesn't really exist.

Rodri has been brought up in Spain and knows that if he gives an interview to Spanish media and is generally flattering about Real Madrid and wanting to return to La Liga at some point that these will be the headlines. It's not rocket science, and it's not unfair.

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It would do down Rodri's intelligence to suggest that he didn't know this - just look at how Pep Guardiola treats questions from Spanish media whenever City play Real in the Champions League. What isn't known is why Rodri said what he said.

A big part of it is simply that it is the truth. From David Silva to Nolito, at some point basically all of the players City have signed from Spain have gone back there because it is a league and a country where they are more comfortable. As Bernardo Silva said recently, Manchester really doesn't have the climate to make players from sunnier countries want to stay forever and it is a testament to what City have built that they are able to hang on to these players for so long.

At some point Rodri will undoubtedly go back to La Liga, and it will quite possible be to Real - not just because he has been coveted there for a long time but because they are one of the Spanish superpowers and a player as good as Rodri wants to be playing for the best teams.

It's just that City fans don't want to think about it, not least because of the support they have given Rodri through his injury over the last two years but also with the Ballon d'Or when Real essentially made a massive, public show of disrespect to the player by boycotting the famous ceremony for the simple reason that it was the City player winning it rather than Vinicius Jr.

Rodri has given City fans some of the best moments of their lives so he certainly doesn't owe anybody anything, but while it will hurt to lose him at whichever point he goes there are some ways that are more painful than others. Seeing him go to Real in summer when he is just starting to return to his best form would be tough to take for many in Manchester.

A player has to think of themselves first and foremost, yet the concerning reality for Rodri is that he doesn't quite know what he thinks or where he is at. Two years ago every club going would have offered him anything he asked for, yet after an injury that wiped out 18 months of his career a player who will turn 30 at this summer's World Cup is yet to discover what his new peak will be.

City are willing to commit to that in terms of a new contract, but after so much frustration over the last few years Rodri has to be sure in himself and then decide on his path. He brought up in the interview last week that the Premier League is his 'weakness' but did also mention the demands it places on players that are more testing than any other league - including Spain.

Rodri is still finding his feet in a landscape that has changed since he was untouchable, and his interview over the last week won't change anything about his long-term future. When he turns up to face Liverpool on Saturday with City, he can expect the same, excellent reaction from City fans that he always gets - either because the dust has settled or his silly blaming of the media has worked.

City have managed to keep Spain's best talents away from their home country as often as they have because of how royally the club and supporters treat them. That will remain the case with Rodri until the moment he is finally lured back to La Liga.