Maresca Faces Challenge After Rodri Departure: Finding the New Star
Enzo Maresca has barely taken his seat in the Manchester City dugout and already he’s dealing with the kind of problem that would keep most managers awake at night: replacing Rodri.
The World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or recipient has gone, swapping the Etihad for Barcelona and closing the book on a seven-year spell that helped define City’s most dominant era. Four Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Club World Cup – Rodri sat at the heart of it all, the metronome and the shield in Pep Guardiola’s machine.
Now he’s a hole in the middle of Maresca’s team.
“I'll try to find a new Rodri – it is what it is,” the Italian said, refusing to dress it up. The reality is stark, but he leaned on City’s recent history to make his point. Superstars leave. Superstars get replaced.
“Rodri, before he 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. Then he joined the club and then after he achieved many important things. Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri.”
This is how City have lived for a decade. When David Silva left, there was anxiety. Kevin De Bruyne stepped fully into the void. When Sergio Aguero moved on, Erling Haaland walked through the door and tore up goal records. When Fernandinho finally departed, Rodri took the shirt and the responsibility.
“When David Silva was here, everyone was worried – Kevin arrived. When Sergio Aguero was here, everyone was worried – Erling arrived. When Ferdinando left, Rodri arrived. It's just about this. When they leave, you need to be good and recruit the next one.”
The challenge now is that it isn’t just Rodri.
This has been a summer of upheaval at City. Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders have all gone, stripping experience and continuity from a squad that only recently looked untouchable. Savinho is expected to join Tottenham, possibly alongside Omar Marmoush, while Nico Gonzalez could also be on his way before the window slams shut.
For a club used to incremental tweaks, this feels like surgery.
So far, the only major arrival is midfielder Elliot Anderson, a talent but hardly a like-for-like answer to Rodri’s departure or the exodus of senior figures. Maresca, though, stayed calm as he looked ahead to Sunday’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
“Hopefully we can do the things that we need to do,” he said. “It doesn't help that there are players that for different reasons want to leave, this is for sure. But we need to adapt and we don't want to keep players here that don't want to stay.”
The market, as ever, dictates the tempo. Clubs hold their assets, wait for panic, and squeeze every last pound out of late deals. City are no different, and Maresca knows it.
“The normal thing in transfer windows is that you have to wait because all the clubs try to keep players until the last week and then sell for more money. It's normal, I'm not worried about that. When the transfer window closes and we have all the squad there, for sure it will be different.”
For now, City walk into a new season with a new manager, a reshaped dressing room and a Rodri-sized shadow over the midfield. The question is no longer what Rodri can win with City.
It’s who dares to be the next one.
