Ederson has blasted the omission of Rodri from this year’s shortlist for the Premier League Player of the Year award.
Phil Fodem, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Martin Ødegaard, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Virgil van Dijk and Ollie Watkins have all been included. But there is no place for Rodri, who has started all but four games for title favourites Manchester City this term.
The midfielder’s performances have helped City to keep pace with Liverpool and Arsenal in what turned into a three-way title race. Liverpool have fallen away, though Arsenal have ensured that the title will not be decided until the final day.
While their success has been rewarded by the inclusion of two players on the Player of the Year shortlist, Ederson has insisted it should be three. He has now blasted the decision to exclude Rodri from the running.
“There are good players, but I see Rodri as a great candidate who isn’t on the list. I don’t understand why he’s not on the list either. Honestly, that’s unacceptable,” Ederson told ESPN Brasil.
“If you look at his year, his campaign, the last few seasons he’s been playing and see that he’s not on the list, it’s absurd. I don’t know what criteria they use to nominate players, but there are also great players competing.
“But I see Rodri as a great candidate to win and unfortunately he’s not on the list. So I think I’ll be rooting for Phil to win, because Phil is also having a great season, he’s helped us a lot. This season he’s scored more goals, provided more assists, been more consistent and more important to the team too.”
While Ederson has been left furious, City boss Pep Guardiola believes that Rodri will be able to shrug off the snub. And he insisted that the Brazilian knows how highly he is valued by his club.
“He has been one of the best. The nominated players deserve it, other players also deserve it. The winner of the trophy will deserve it, and the ones who don’t will too,” Guardiola said last week.
“We know what we think of the importance of him, how magnificent and extraordinary he is as a player. He should not be worried about it. When I won [Manager of the Season], it’s because we won.
“It’s because your team won a title, won games. The award is not for me – I didn’t play one minute. He has no doubt about how he’s appreciated in the team and in English football, so I wouldn’t say it is unfair that the other nominees are there.
“Of course, it could’ve been Rodri or another seven players there, so he knows how good he is and we know how important and an excellent player [he is]. If I was the manager, I would pick myself but if it was Johan Cruyff and he was smarter than me – then it would be Rodri by far.”
