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Nigeria's Mikel Obi waxes lyrical about Manchester City's Rodri and compares him to Premier League legends Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.
Nigerian legend Mikel Obi has showered praise on Manchester City star Rodri and compared him to two Premier League greats Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.
Obi has shared his thoughts on the Spaniard who has impressed the former Chelsea midfielder, describing the City man as the most important player in the Premier League.
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Mikel Obi praises Rodri
The former Nigerian skipper had a successful career at Chelsea, where he made 249 appearances across all competitions.
During his time with the Blues, the accomplished Nigerian international had played against some of the best players in the game.
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With his experience, the 35-year-old weighed in with his thoughts on Spain international, Rodri whom he spoke effusively about.
Speaking in a podcast per Manchester City News, Obi hailed the talented defensive midfielder and compared him to Premier League Hall of Famers, Keane and Vieira of Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.
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“He’s unbelievable,” Mikel Obi said. “I was watching him on Sunday and was thinking, we call this role ‘the Makelel role,’ I think that should go out of the window because this guy has taken the position and transformed it and made it 20 times better.”
“I was watching his defensive role, I was watching his position, I was watching the way he was controlling the ball. His position when he controls the ball, he is already facing the right way, he doesn’t need to turn around. He did it the whole game, absolute masterclass watching him.”
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On Roy Keane and Vieira
Speaking further, the 2013 AFCON winner added that while Keane and Vieira are legends of the game, he believes Rodri has redefined the role.
“He is so important to this City team,” he added. “No disrespect to Keane or Vieira, legends that i have seen play in the Premier League in that position but what Rodri is doing right now, possession, the way he attacks, getting into the box, creating chances, tackling, everything goes through this guy. For me, he’s the most important player in the Premier League.”
Rodri joined City in the summer of 2019 from LALIGA club, Athletico Madrid.
The 27-year-old has played 221 matches across all competitions for City, scoring 20 goals and providing 21 assists.
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