Rodri, the terrible humiliation

For his return to La Liga as a starter, Rodri was frightened by the level of Barça's opponent, about whom he did not mince his words. Seven years after his departure for Manchester City, Rodri returned to La Liga this summer. And for his first start of the season, the world champion took part in the FC Barcelona festival on the pitch of Valencia CF (0-5), Sunday, at Mestalla. There was no comparison between the leader and the current red lantern, the former finalist of the Champions League being far from his former glory. The level of Valencia also surprised the 2024 Ballon d'Or, who confided his astonishment to his teammate Pau Cubarsi when he left the field on the hour mark. 'Really weak. They're really weak, man. Really weak. Really bad'lamented Rodri to Cubarsi, in a sequence captured by the cameras of the showEl Día Después, the Spanish equivalent of what represented D+1 a few years ago on Canal+. Rodri frightened by the level of Valencia 'They're rubbish, rubbish. How did Valencia manage to hold on last season? ', continued the former Manchester City player. 'They didn't even cross the halfway line in the second half'concluded Rodri, in a humiliating but unfortunately quite realistic judgment. Easy winner 5-0, with a double from Lamine Yamal and a festival from Fermin Lopez (one goal, two assists), Barça flew through this meeting with 25 shots to 3 and 73.5% ball possession according to Whoscored. In the second half, Valencia did not actually exist, with 15 shots to zero for the visitors.