Rodri’s comments did not sit well with Roy Keane (Picture: ITV)
Roy Keane was not on board with former Manchester City star Rodri after the midfielder insisted the club deserved all its success and it cannot be taken from them.
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Rodri, who won four Premier League titles with Manchester City from 2021-24, captained Spain against England at Wembley on Saturday and gave his view on the situation.
‘What we did, they cannot take out of us. It’s something that is not paid by money. It’s paid with effort, with partnership, with, being shoulder-to-shoulder every day,’ he said in a pre-match press conference.
‘We had a lot of success and I can tell you that everything was deserved, and I’m glad that I could live one of the best eras of English football in here.
Rodri is still backing his former club, having left for Barcelona in the summer (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘Everyone has to follow the rules, that’s great and they always express the confidence that they never did something wrong, and we believe in that.’
Former Manchester United captain, Keane, did not echo those sentiments and feels Manchester City now need to take their punishment, if indeed the guilty verdict stands.
‘It’s about time. It has obviously been going on a long time now,’ Keane said on ITV. ‘I certainly would disagree with Rodri’s messages there. It was their choice, the club. They chose to cheat.
‘Whatever they have won over the last few years, they deserve to be punished. Where we start and finish with that obviously is difficult but they were cheating. They’ve been found guilty of it and they have to take their medicine now.
‘It was a shock to be found guilty of, is it 114 charges they were found guilty of? Big news.’
Rodri won four Premier League titles on the spin with City (Picture: Reuters)
Arsenal legend Ian Wright also had little sympathy for Rodri’s viewpoint and, although he accepts no one can take the experiences away from the Manchester City players, the accolades could be stripped.
‘He’s talking about what he’s done, he went shoulder-to-shoulder with the guys and of course you can’t take that away from them, they experienced that,’ said Wright. ;But they should take it way from them, they should be punished for it.
‘They may be able to experience those memories and great times together, but when you look at the teams that were trying to chase them, who were doing it right, its not right!
‘What have we taken from Liverpool’s legacy? [Jurgen] Klopp and that team. What could they have experienced?
‘They cheated to get it done and people have missed out on that, players have missed out on unbelievable opportunities for themselves. I’m glad we’ve finally got there.’
City won three titles during the period in question (Picture: AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
‘There is no doubt a points deduction would be the most likely outcome in the view of many,’ Maguire told TalkTV.
‘We have seen points deductions before for Nottingham Forest and Everton for breach of the financial limit rules. So that is feasible. There is a separate issue of whether clubs who have missed out on titles, could they put in for financial compensation for not getting into Europe and loss of prize money.’
