Daily Star

BIG 4 SO SUPER

Prem different class says Rodri

- ■ by DAVID ANDERSON

THE European Super League may be dead but Rodri claims its English version is alive and well.

He feels Manchester City and England’s other elite teams are a super league within the Premier League and believes they can dominate Europe again.

City were one of three English sides to reach last season’s Champions League and Europa League finals, while all four finalists in the competitio­ns in 2019 were from the Premier League.

Rodri (above) has noted a power shift from Spain to England over the last few years and feels the Premier League’s dominance can continue.

“In the sense of getting to the finals and having teams in the finals of the Champions League and Europa League, I think yes,” said the former Atletico Madrid midfielder.

“Six years ago, it wasn’t like this, it was a Spanish league with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico.

“The English Premier League is getting stronger each time.

“I always say we have a small super league here in the Premier League in the sense we have amazing teams.”

Tonight against RB Leipzig at the Etihad, City will begin their 11th attempt under Sheikh Mansour to lift the one trophy that continues to elude them.

They have dominated domestical­ly over the last decade, winning five Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and six League Cups, and Rodri claims they do not need to win the Champions League to be considered one of Europe’s elite. The Spanish internatio­nal feels

City’s phenomenal success shows they are already one of the continent’s best teams.

“We don’t have to, it’s a dream for a lot of us, it’s not compulsory,” he said. “The Champions League is such an unbelievab­le tournament, but only one team wins it and all the other teams don’t.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to think much about that. It’s our dream, we want to achieve this, the club has been working in the last 10 years to achieve this.”

Rodri, 25, was an unused substitute in last season’s Champions League Final in Porto and insists he has no regrets about losing to Chelsea.

He has won back his place, starting City’s last three Premier League games, and says they can be proud of reaching their first final.

“We had a great season, we were proud of what we achieved,” he said. “It was the first time in our history that we got to the final.

“We have no regrets about that, we have to be so proud and happy about what we did.”

 ??  ?? HOT ROD: Rodri and Bernardo Silva enjoy Saturday’s win at Leicester
HOT ROD: Rodri and Bernardo Silva enjoy Saturday’s win at Leicester

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