Former Manchester City defender Richard Dunne has no doubts about the importance of Rodri.

For many, Rodri is the best midfielder of his type in the world.

And Dunne agrees, telling City's website: “He's probably the one player in the squad we don't have a like-for-like player who can play that position as well as he can do it.

“There's not many in world football than can do what he's done.

“The composure that he shows in and out of possession, the leadership, the organisation that he creates – I think the other players enjoy having him on the pitch.

“They know everything's fine because Rodri's behind and you can take certain risks knowing he is in the right position. His covering is spot on, he keeps the ball, he wins tackles, there's very few things that he can't do.

“When you're talking about players with the potential to win Ballons D'Or, sometimes he can be overlooked because he's not got the goals and the assists but he's one of the main parts of a giant of a team. He's the one player that keeps it ticking over."