Rodri states he is ‘different’ to Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool stars in drive towards becoming ‘the best’

Manchester City’s defensive midfield mainstay has admitted his desire to become ‘the best’ in his position, amid comparisons to some of the Premier League’s top stars.

The 26 year-old has once again been nothing short of sensational for Manchester City so far this season, commanding the midfield and his wider teammates for the most part of the campaign and becoming an unrivalled presence in the defensive midfield role.

Despite the £42 million signing of England international Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United last summer, the Spain international has remained unmoved at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s midfield, creating struggles in terms of game time for his fellow central teammate.

Rodri has so far registered a staggering 45 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City this season – the joint-most alongside Bernardo Silva – scoring three goals and providing seven assists in the process.

As such, talk of him being the best defensive midfielder at world football is certainly unwarranted, but a claim that the player himself feels he still has not deserved just yet.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Rodri explained, “I want to be the best. That’s my duty every day. I see myself from the first year when I came here to now and I grow a lot.

“I thought I had good qualities and condition when I came but now I see myself with experience, coaching, what I’ve learned from opponents. My aim is to be the best but other people have to decide.”

Rodri continued by explaining how he feels he should not be compared to other top defensive midfielders in the Premier League, name-dropping stars from Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea during the conversation.

The Spain international elaborated to The Telegraph, “I don’t consider myself the same type of player as other holding midfielders. I have my own way of understanding and playing that I think is quite different from Casemiro, Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and these type of players.”

Rodri is expected to continue to play a significant role in any success Manchester City secure during the months that remain this season, with Pep Guardiola and his players continuing to hunt down three trophies.

City reached their first final of the season over the weekend, as a 3-0 win over Sheffield United booked a place in a June 3 final against bitter rivals Manchester United for the FA Cup trophy.

Elsewhere, a hotly-contested Premier League title battle rumbles on for the duration of the campaign, with a showdown against challengers Arsenal on the horizon, as well as a Champions League semi-final double-header with Real Madrid coming up next month.