Rodri has reflected on Manchester City's recurring setbacks in the Champions League and when his side could go all way in Europe's premier club competition.
After Manchester City’s appointment of Pep Guardiola was confirmed in 2016, there was no shortage of sceptics about his signature style of play.
While many acknowledged his rousing success in the past, a popular opinion at the time was that Guardiola would struggle to get to grips with the physical nature of the Premier League.
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Such takes have aged poorly to say the least, with the Spanish tactician’s side winning four out of the last five league titles.
However, a criticism that is still held against both Guardiola and his side is their failure to lift the elusive Champions League trophy.
In particular, shock exits against the likes of AS Monaco, Tottenham and Lyon have been puzzling to put them modestly.
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As many continue to use the club’s woes in Europe as a stick to beat them with, Rodri gave a detailed insight about how his side are gradually making progress in the competition.
“I just think about how many times the team arrives in those situations to win. The teams who have won it the most - Real Madrid, Bayern Munich – are always in semi-finals and finals," the 26-year-old said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
"They don’t win it every time but they are there. Now we are starting to build a culture to be there every year.
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“One day it is going to happen. But first, you need the experience of semi-finals and finals - then it is partly luck."
City made an encouraging start to pre-season as a brace from Kevin De Bruyne sealed a 2-1 win over Club America in Houston ahead of this weekend's meeting with Bayern Munich.
Rodri added: "That is going to be with us and we will achieve. But at the beginning you need to be consistent in these situations.
"They asked me the other day, ‘What makes the champions different?’. Sometimes it’s the consistency, the strong mentality - these kind of things.
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"You build it, there are some players who are born with it. But this is a sport of 24 players and you have to carry on with 24 players at the same time. Sometimes the mood is down, sometimes it’s up and you have to try.”
While the Spaniard remains factually correct about the side reaching the final and semi-final in two consecutive seasons, he touched upon the latter, which was perhaps one of the most disappointing defeats experienced by the club in a while.
“I always try to learn about these kinds of situations. I don't know why, football gives you good and bad things," Rodri said.
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"Two weeks later, we had the Aston Villa game that happened (in) the same (manner), and that's a good point - to learn about these kinds of things."
The former Atletico Madrid man further revealed he struggled to deal with the crushing defeat City suffered late on at the Santiago Bernabeu last season - despite holding a two-goal aggregate lead with less than five minutes left in the tie.
“Of course, it's tough," Rodri said. "I think it was one of the worst days of my life, because it was in Madrid, in my home (town), and then after the game I saw my family, and I couldn't speak.
"Even my mum was there, and I couldn't speak, not one word. But football is like this, of course it's tough, but you have to focus on it's just a sport and try next time.
"It's like the coach (Guardiola) said - we're going to try next year and next year and next year.”
Ultimately, Rodri’s positivity about Manchester City’s gradual progress in Europe will be shared by those at the club, who will be driven to right the wrongs from last season to finally win the coveted trophy in the following seasons.
Topics: Manchester City, Rodri, Champions League, Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich, Premier League
Srinivas Sadhanand