Pep Guardiola has hailed new Manchester City signing Nico Gonzalez following his impressive Premier League debut this past weekend, going so far as to call him a “mini-Rodri”.
Very high praise indeed.
Blues feared that the recently secured Spanish footballer was already set for a period on the sidelines following a worrying injury incident on his short-lived debut against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, but the 23-year-old thankfully returned straight to the starting lineup in the 4-0 win over Newcastle.
Fellow newcomer Omar Marmoush was undoubtedly the star of the show, netting a first-half hattrick in front of the Eithad crowd, but manager Pep Guardiola was quick to heap the plaudits on Gonzalez in his post-match interview.
Quick to smile in response to the reporter’s comparing his impact and calming presence in the middle of the park to that of Rodri, Pep simply responded: “He is our mini-Rodri.”
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Insisting that it is a huge compliment to be mentioned in the same breath as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner and Man City talisman in just your first league start, especially at such a young age too, Guardiola went on to add that his personality, pace and time in Portugal have done wonders for
Crediting his time at Barcelona’s La Masia Academy (‘The Farmhouse’ in English) as having obviously influenced his positional awareness and possession – the blueprint around which the Catalan coach’s teams have always been built – he said he believes the youngster has already “grown up a lot.”
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To it into context, not only was Gonzalez absolutely everywhere against Newcastle but he completed 98 of his 101 passes (97% completion rate) from just 112 touches, which included 14 into the final third, some positive progressive carrying; four recoveries, four successful ground duels and an interception.
Not a bad start to life for a player new to the country, the most competitive league in the world and what has proved to be the most crucial position on the pitch for City.
It’s no coincidence that the Quadruple-winners form has suffered in the wake of Rodri’s prolonged absence and though there have been signs of them getting back on track, replacing him and the impact he has on tempo and control has still evaded them.
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Well, perhaps until this weekend.
It’s too early to tell whether Nico Gonzalez really is a ‘mini-Rodri’ regen, as social media was quick to join in labelling him on Saturday, but if he proves to be even half the player for Pep as the Euro 2024 winner for the time being, you can expect results to keep improving.
Meanwhile, his senior counterpart is still most likely resigned to miss the rest of the current campaign following surgery on his ACL, though the club have shared some slim hope that he could return just before its conclusion.
City still have injury problems and defensive issues to deal with, in particular, having conceded more in all competitions already than they did in the entirety of last season and the year before, but the arrival of highly-rated Abdukodir Khusanov has definitely taken some pressure off.
What about you: which new face are you most excited by – Manchester’s ‘Egyptian Prince’, the young Uzbek defender or Pep’s new ‘mini-Rodri‘, Nico Gonzalez?
Scott Carson reveals important behind-the-scenes role at Manchester City
Danny Jones
Recently retired goalkeeper Scott Carson has revealed the unsung but important role he had behind the scenes during his time at Manchester City.
The 40-year-old ex-pro called time on his playing career after more than two decades and six years in sky blue, having made just two appearances for the club during a period in which they won 11 trophies.
Carson officially hung up his gloves on 23 October 2025, following his contract expiration, and since then has found himself carrying out a number of interviews, including one with Fozcast, hosted by another fellow shotstopper who spent time in Manchester, Ben Foster.
While lots of people have joked that he did very little to earn the flurry of medals so late in his career, or at the very least theorised as to what he actually did behind the scenes, he’s now been more open than ever about the largely sidelined spell.
🗣️ "When people had to be serious, they were serious"
Scott Carson reveals what it was like working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. pic.twitter.com/HZGjVkrso0
Sitting down with Sky Sports, the Cumbrian keeper confirmed that initially it was, indeed, just a case of serving as not even as a rotation option but a back-up third choice.
Nevertheless, he’s an experienced veteran with 11 different teams on his CV, including Leeds United, Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday – though only a handful of games for each – as well as half a century of appearances at Wigan Athletic before his longest stints at the likes of West Brom and Derby County.
While this job usually involves purely training, helping keep other players sharp, he says that after settling into the Etihad Campus a little more, he found himself performing a much more influential, albeit largely unsung, role in the background.
Getting validation from manager Pep Guardiola that the side “needed more of that”, he essentially ended up providing valuable seniority and motivation amongst the group, despite only playing a couple of times.
Bidding farewell to the Whitehaven-born cult hero, the club wrote: “During his time at City, Carson has been praised by goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor and peers Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno for his work ethic and the effect of his positive attitude amongst the group.”
Speaking about Guardiola specifically, he hailed the Catalan coach for having overhauled modern football in this country, as well as giving him the secondary task of supporting his teammates, be it via boosting morale and ‘picking up’ those left frustrated by matchday selection.
As well as noting his widely publicised detail-oriented nature, he also made a point of recognising that Pep himself was “evolving each season”, whether or not everyone else saw it.
In short, he said he has helped improve the quality of the Premier League and, more specifically, that he helped redefine what a goalkeeper can be in the division.
You can watch the rest of the interview in full down below.
Manchester set to host five UEFA EURO 2028 matches – including England’s opening game
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed to be the host of five matches at the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament in 2028.
This also, crucially, would include England‘s opening match, should they qualify directly.
The joint announcement by Manchester City and Manchester City Council today comes as UEFA has now released key details about the UK & Ireland 2028 competition – which, as it stands, is less than 1,000 days away.
It has been confirmed that the Etihad Stadium – which is known as The City of Manchester Stadium when not relating to Manchester City football club – will host four Group Stage matches across four different groups, offering both local and international football fans the chance to see a range of different national teams in action.
On top of this, Manchester will also be the host a Round of 16 knockout match as the tournament progresses.
UEFA EURO 2028 will kick off at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff on Friday 9 June 2028, culminating in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 9 July 2028.
Across the UK and Ireland, nine stadiums will host matches during the upcoming tournament – with other northern stadiums including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, and St James’ Park over in Newcastle.
More than three million tickets – as sold by UEFA – are set to be available for the tournament, and more information on this will be issued in due course.
Following an independent assessment, UEFA EURO 2028 is expected to generate up to £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland between 2028 and 2031, with benefits including job creation, regional growth, and direct spending from international visitors.
The countdown has started in Manchester for #EURO2028!
Five matches are scheduled to be played here – including England's opener if they qualify – and more than 300,000 fans will be welcomed to the city in June 2028.
Danny Jones -
17th February 2025 
