Italian Enzo Maresca, the technical director of Manchester City's first football team, spoke about the future of Rodri, the Sky Blues' captain, amid reports indicating he is close to wearing Barcelona's shirt during the current summer transfer window.
Rodri was one of Real Madrid's main targets during the current mercato, but everything changed in the past few days as Barcelona entered the deal.
After Rodri was ready to play for Real Madrid and expressed his desire to do so, the situation completely changed when the white club's management delayed completing the deal.
Seoul World Cup Stadium hosted the match between English side Manchester City and Spanish side Atletico Madrid, which ended with Enzo Maresca's men winning three goals to one.
Manchester City have played two friendly matches so far, losing the first on penalties to Inter Milan, while defeating the stars of the Korean league.
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Egyptian star Omar Marmoush managed to score a brilliant brace against Atletico Madrid, netting the first and second goals past goalkeeper Oblak.
Maresca said in statements via Manchester City's official website: "Rodri's return? Until this moment he will be in Manchester on Wednesday and will join training with us on Friday."
He added: "Overall, the match was a very good test against one of the best teams in Europe."
He continued: "The players deserve all the credit for the effort they put in; starting tomorrow, the pre-season period ends and the real competition begins."
He went on: "I think the wingers can play well, but the final result is what matters most."
He continued: "I think the first half was a bit unfair; we created 4 or 5 chances, but the difference was inside the penalty area—we didn't score."
He concluded: "Certainly you need a player on the flanks capable of creating chaos, especially when they face one-on-one situations."