Rodri has said what plenty inside Manchester City have been saying privately for a long time. He believes the club are innocent, and until the legal process says otherwise, that is where he stands.

The former City midfielder, now at Barcelona, spoke before Spain’s Uefa Nations League meeting with England at Wembley. His message was simple, direct and unsurprising. “They always express the confidence that they never did something wrong and we believe in that,” Rodri said.

This comes after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching most of the 115 Premier League financial rules they were accused of breaking. The club are expected to appeal, which means this story remains far from over. For now, there is a verdict, but there is also another stage to come, and that matters.

Rodri’s argument rests on trust and precedent. He was part of the dressing room during City’s previous battle with financial fair play authorities. That case ended with the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturning Uefa’s two-year ban from European competition in 2020. For him, that experience shapes how players view the current Manchester City charges.

“Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club. They always tell us the confidence they have on the innocence.”

He also added, “We had the example of 2020 that the process was the same and at the end nothing happened.” Rodri went further, saying, “We have faced something similar, we had a similar judicial process. Different accusation but similar process.

“There as well in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and in the end we ended up acquitted.

“So, I believe in the justice system, and I believe in the innocence of the club.”