Manchester City star, Rodri, was randomly spotted enjoying some recreational time in a little pub over in Rochdale this week. Not exactly where you’d expect to bump into a treble winner.
That’s right, the man who scored the winning goal and saw Man City lift their first-ever Champions League trophy, not to mention secure the coveted treble last season, just so happened to pop into a Rochdale pub called the Bridge Inn over in the village of Norden.
Posted on Monday, 31 July, the Bridge Inn shared a picture of the 27-year-old defensive midfielder posing for a photo with a City fan who was fortunate enough to be in there at the same time as the footballer, along with the caption: “Some footballer and a happy customer”.
I mean, you would be pretty buzzing if you went down the boozer for a quick pint and a pack of crisps one evening and ended up bumping into one of your team’s most beloved players.
Speaking to the MEN, the lucky City fan who got a picture with Rodri in the Rochdale pub, Jack Samuel, said that “he seemed a really nice bloke.
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“He wasn’t bothered at all that I’d asked for a photo and didn’t hesitate to say yes, but I apologised for disturbing him nonetheless.”
As for the pub’s landlord, Simon Britton — a big Man United supporter and was out at the time — he admitted that he was still “gutted” to have caught the famous face coming into his pub and would have “got a photo of me in my United shirt with him”.
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Rodri apparently came in to order some food but was told they sadly weren’t serving. Britton said, “I’m telling everyone he came to try our homemade onion rings but the kitchen was closed”, adding, “If he comes in again I’ll buy him a pint.” A kind gesture but one he’d likely turn down as famously doesn’t drink — unless, of course, it’s the title parade after winning the treble.
Another amusing detail, as spotted by someone in the comments, is that if you look closely you can see that he actually has his fly down. Why are you looking down there, Claire!?
A true man of the people, nonetheless.
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Rodri has not long been back in Greater Manchester either, as the Blues have only just flown home from South Korea following the end of their pre-season on Sunday, where they lost against the Spaniard’s former club Atlético de Madrid 2-1.
Pep Guardiola and his squad play their first real competitive game of the season this Sunday when they face Arsenal in the Community Shield ahead of their Premier League opener against Burnley on 11 August. Just make sure you tie your boots, Rodders.
New Amazon Prime Video docuseries to show Pep Guardiola’s final seasons at Manchester City
Emily Sergeant
A new all-access docuseries featuring Pep Guardiola’s final few seasons at Manchester City is set to air this summer.
Coming exclusively to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, the four-part documentary is set to take Manchester City fans and neutral viewers alike inside the club as the players and manager – who delivered an era of dominance -make way for a new generation.
Filmed over the past two seasons, this is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football, and will offer unfiltered access to Guardiola, his squad, and the City boardroom.
After 10 trophy-filled years – which included six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five EFL Cups – Pep Guardiola called time on his tenure in Manchester last month, alongside fan favourite players Bernardo Silva and John Stones, as well as Kevin De Bruyne the season prior.
This new docuseries was there to follow them every step of the process.
Fans can follow City from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign right through to a domestic double the following season, charting the raw emotion of a squad in transition.
The series is directed by Academy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Kevin Macdonald, alongside City Studios’ John De Caux, and is produced by Kevin Macdonald for Plan B/KM Films and Gavin Johnson and Ged Doherty for City Studios.
“This is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football,” Amazon Prime Video said in a statement.
Joining Prime Video’s wide selection of sports programming, the series will be available to watch at no additional cost to Prime members this summer.
It’ll be ready to stream on 19 August.
Featured Image – Prime Video
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Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem
Danny Jones
All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.
So why not time for a change?
After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.
Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the John Denver anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.
“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.
Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.
As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.
We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.
Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.
On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…
In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.
Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”
He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.
What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?
Danny Jones -
3rd August 2023 
