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.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
3rd August 2023 
