The Barça summer passed through two worlds: the media world and the discreet world. One was forged in the Camp Nou offices, symbolized in the attempted signing of Julián Alvarez to please a fan eager to make the leap in Europe; The other worked in the offices of the Ciudad Deportiva, tracking the market according to Hansi Flick's tastes. And while the noise was fueled by two such opposite versions—that of Atlético and that of Barça—that turned the truth into an aggressive chimera, Deco and Flick were outlining the Barcelona model 2026-2027.
This is how Gordon arrived when no one was considering him, in the same way that Gabriel Jesus was taken by surprise. The candy for the fans, then, was not in Madrid, but in Manchester. If not, ask the Barcelona fans, in love with the star signing of the summer window: Rodri Hernández. And even that he has only played 53 minutes in two games (27 against Athletic and 26 against Rayo). Enough for the Camp Nou to already chant the Etihad classic: “Rodri’s on fire”.
It's curious what happened with Rodri. A guy who is reluctant to use social media, without that show-stopping or aspirational aspect of the stereotype of the modern footballer: his first car was an Opel Corsa and when he arrived at City a teammate made fun of his mid-range Abercrombie jersey. That type of player conquered the Barça parish in the zero minute.
El Botafumeiro, the classic restaurant in the Catalan capital where Joan Laporta likes to entertain his guests, had to reinforce security the day the president took Rodri and his wife to eat, coinciding with the signing of the contract. The fans packed the door. It had never happened.
Rodri not only mobilized the youngest fans and conquered the stands of the Camp Nou. The coaching staff also surrendered to the captain of the Spanish team. "We are all very happy that he is playing for us; he is the perfect player for Barça, for our philosophy and for the way we want to play football," commented Hansi Flick upon his arrival. The German coach is delighted with Rodri. This is what they say in the Barcelona sports area. The same sources say that it is not strange that the Barça coach stays chatting with the man from Madrid after training. This Saturday, before Barça's visit to Mestalla (4:15 p.m., Movistar), they spent about five minutes talking on the lawn of Tito Vilanova, the Barça first team's work center at the Joan Gamper Sports City. While Raphinha, Gordon, Adeyemi and company were rehearsing shots on goal - Lamine did not train due to a knock and his presence at Mestalla is in doubt - Rodri and Hansi reasoned about Barcelona's game. According to one of those present, they were talking about pressure and the German's idea that the midfielders insist on shots from the front.
With the fans and the coaching staff dedicated, Rodri is now beginning to win over the locker room. What seemed easy, due to his daily life with the Blaugranas with whom he coincides in La Roja, was not: there were those who viewed his presence with suspicion, especially Pedri. "He was uncomfortable playing alongside him in the National Team. He lost his position. We thought it was going to give him something when Rodri signed for Barça," commented privately one of the players who coincided with both at the World Cup in the United States. Another of the Barcelona footballers, on the other hand, was more optimistic: “Rodri is intelligent, he knows that Barça is not the National Team.”
The solution is to understand each other in the field. I work for Flick: "I look forward to seeing them play together at Barça. They will be at a top level," says the German. But there is another job, quieter, surely just as effective: getting along when they are dressed in civilian clothes. Their partners have already started doing it: Alejandra (Pedri's girlfriend) and Laura (Rodri's) spent a weekend together in Formentera with Anna, Joan García's girlfriend.
The signing of Rodri is not understood only from the media aspect of counteracting the fiasco of Julián's novel, cruel especially for the Argentine. Rodri's arrival has a football sense, of course, but also of leadership. Both Flick and Deco wanted to imbue the squad with the ancestry of a guy used to winning like Rodri. For now, however, he is left off the list of Barcelona captains. Flick chose two: Pedri and Raphinha; The other three were chosen by the locker room: De Jong, Eric García and Lamine Yamal.
"When I saw the team, the players we have, and the influence they have in the group, I thought about Raphinha and Pedri. I didn't want to choose others; I wanted them because they are fixed in the lineup. It was an easy decision because now I know the team better. In previous seasons we had players like Marc-André Ter Stegen, Araújo or Frenkie, who didn't play as much. I'm happy with the choice of the team and the five captains," explained the Barcelona coach.
Rodri will have to wait his turn to act as captain. Also to sneak into the starting eleven. Neither will Gabriel Jesus. “He's certainly not 100% but he can play a few minutes,” said Flick about the Brazilian. "He has options to play in the second half. I really liked how he has arrived, what I have seen. Without being 100%, he is prepared to play minutes. He is one of the options for this Sunday in the second half depending on how the game goes."
Flick doesn't mind waiting for the best Rodri, nor does the sports management. Those who are eager are the Barcelona fans, eager to see the fire of the midfielder dressed in Barça.
