Pep Guardiola: “We have [Ilkay] Gundo back, and other players, but Phil’s position better is there [in the middle]. But when everyone is fit, the competition is tough. I want to rotate, but they have to prove when I rotate that they are ready to play.”

Pep Guardiola on Inter: “A historical team, incredible mentality, they are built to win every single game, they are created to win competitions, in the last years they won a lot, and that means the mindset of the players is, 'I'm able to do it!' It's quite similar to us.”

Pep Guardiola on whether Lautaro Martinez could win the Ballon d’ Or: “Why not? I'd rather a Man City player won that accolade. But he's a sensational player; he won World Cup and South American Cup with Argentina. Inter has a lot of good players.”

Rodri on his Ballon d’Or hopes: “To be honest, I'm very, very happy for everything that happened to me in the last years, winning what Man City won and winning the Euros with my country is just a dream! It's a consequence of the hard work, consistency, and never giving up.”

Rodri: “I really feel right now that people are recognizing my work and trying to push me to win the Ballon d’Or. It's not something I think about, to be honest. It would be a dream, of course, because I never thought I could arrive at this stage, this moment.”

Rodri: “I know I play a different role to most players that are nominated for the Ballon d’Or, but it's also shows that football can be beautiful in different views. You can be beautiful as a midfielder, or scoring goals, or being a defender.”

Rodri on the expanded football schedule: “From my experience, I can tell you that 60, or 70 games, NO! I think between 40 and 50 games is the amount a player can perform at the highest level, after that you drop, because it's impossible to sustain the physical level.

In my humble opinion, I think it's too much. I think we have to take care of ourselves, someone has to take care of ourselves, because we are the main characters of this sport, or business, or whatever you want to call it.”

Rodri: “Not everything is money or marketing, it's also the quality of the show. In my opinion, when I'm resting, when I'm not tired, I perform better. If the people want to see better football, we need to rest!

When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality of the games gets lower.”

Rodri on Man City's mental strength: “Try to get the machine rolling again by winning or by performing well. I think the start of the season was great for us because the earlier you get into this run, the easier it is to continue into the season. That's the key.”

Rodri on the 2023 UCL final: “The full game, maybe I've seen once or twice [again]. Small clips, thousands, to be honest.

We were watching the 2023 UCL final yesterday, analysing Inter because they haven't changed much the way they play..

It was great to see it back! This is football. It was a great time, but now life goes on, and we have another challenges and goals in our heads. We need to move on.”

Rodri on his extended break over the summer: “It was great for my legs, to be honest... It helps me a lot to stop, to not watch much football, so I try to disconnect. Mental health is important to refresh, and move on.”

Rodri: “I think we're close to that [going on strike over the football calendar]. It's the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps this way, we'll have no other option, I really think... It's something that worries us. We are the guys who suffer!”

Rodri on a new contract offer: “Nothing much to say. I have three more years at Man City, and when I sign the contract I don't think of other teams, I just think of finishing. So I have three more years at Man City, and nothing more to say.”

Rodri: “I just want to be the best version of myself... I want to be the best, that's why I perform, but I don't want to do rankings.”

Rodri: “I don't need to watch Inter to know how they play; I know exactly the players, how they perform. I think they have many key players, they defend very well, transition very good, very solid team, big stars like Lautaro [Martinez], important players in midfield.

It's going to be like knocking on a wall, because we know how Italian teams defend.”

Man City Legal Team LineUp