Pep Guardiola has coached numerous players during his time in charge of Manchester City.
Out of all the players that have featured for City since the 53-year-old took the reins at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016, 12 have racked up over 200 appearances under Guardiola.
In terms of the silverware the Citizens have won under their current manager, they have won six Premier League trophies as well as one Champions League among numerous other domestic and European titles.
With several members of City’s squad currently featuring in the 2024 European Championship, one of them has found himself on the end of some significant praise from one former Blues player for what he’s done whilst working with Guardiola at the Manchester club.
Micah Richards says Rodri has improved so much at Man City
During a recent episode of The Rest Is Football, Micah Richards said this on the subject of Rodri and how much he’s developed and improved at City.
He said: “I would say massive. I think in his first season, he was getting himself into positions where he could be exposed on the turn. But now if you look at where he’s on the pitch, he just reads the game so well.
“And I think that comes from Pep, but also himself, because you’ve got to want to be able to improve and yeah, he’s the best number six in world football.”
Rodri is one of the best midfielders in the world
Since he joined the Manchester club back in 2019, the 28-year-old has 257 games under his belt across all competitions, scoring 26 goals and delivering 30 assists along the way.
Comparing Rodri’s debut Premier League campaign to his most recent one, the £220k-a-week midfielder made more progressive passes (376 vs 232), shots at goal (62 vs 24) and successful tackles (43 vs 30) last season than in his first one.
This highlights how much the Spain international has become more effective in and out of possession for the Blues.
In fact, back in May, Bernardo Silva said that Rodri has everything in his game, which makes him such a key figure for City.
Taking all of that into account, it’s easy to see why Richards has been so complimentary towards Rodri and how much he’s grown as a player during his time with Guardiola at City.