Rodri: Barcelona Not Yet Ready to Be Champions League Favourites
Rodri believes Barcelona have the quality to challenge for the Champions League but has warned that the Spanish champions cannot yet regard themselves as the leading contenders for the competition.
Barcelona have won La Liga in successive seasons, yet their domestic success has not been matched in Europe. The club are seeking a first Champions League title in 12 years, and their summer move for Rodri from Manchester City was shaped by the desire to add proven continental experience to the midfield.
The 30-year-old Spain captain has quickly established himself as a central figure at his new club, but he has urged patience over expectations of an immediate European triumph. Rodri said the trophy is within Barcelona’s reach, while stressing that the side still have work to do before they can be placed among the favourites.
“We can win the Champions League, but I would not call us favourites,” Rodri said. “It is a realistic objective and it is the next step for us, to prove in Europe the kind of side we can become.”
Rodri calls for greater control in knockout ties
Barcelona’s recent eliminations against Inter and Atletico Madrid exposed problems at decisive moments, with defensive lapses and disciplinary setbacks damaging their chances. Rodri said those details often decide knockout football more than a team’s overall level of performance.
He argued that the Champions League does not invariably reward the strongest side across a season. Instead, he sees it as a competition defined by key incidents and by a team’s capacity to manage them: avoiding dismissals, limiting unnecessary penalties and preventing a tie from slipping away after conceding too freely.
“There are moments in this competition that decide whether you advance or are eliminated,” he said. “That is an area where we can improve. We have the chance, and that is one of the reasons I joined Barcelona.”
Rodri suggested Barcelona may need to place more emphasis on defensive consistency, even if that occasionally reduces their attacking freedom. In his view, the clubs that have lifted the European Cup have generally combined talent with resilience and control when the knockout rounds tighten.
“Maybe you do not have to be quite so strong going forward if you can be more reliable and solid,” he said. “The teams that win it show that quality. We have room to grow there, and I am convinced we will.”
Experience remains part of Barcelona’s challenge
Having won the Champions League during his time in England, Rodri also pointed to the value of repeated exposure to the competition. The World Cup winner said setbacks are often part of the process for players and teams aiming to become European champions.
“Before you win, you have to lose and learn,” he said. “I went through many Champions League campaigns before I was able to win it. Players develop year after year through those experiences.”
Barcelona will now look to turn the lessons from their previous European disappointments into progress in this season’s knockout phase, with Rodri expecting maturity in the decisive moments to be as important as the squad’s technical ability.
