Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been fined $107,000 (£80,000) by the FA for comments made after the Citizens’ 2–2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in February. The punishment follows an FA statement that said he acted in an “improper manner during a post-match media interview by making comments that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official.”

Rodri avoided a suspension and was instead handed a warning. The Spain international “admitted the charge against him” at a hearing, and he submitted two letters in his defence that the FA accepted, leaving the monetary penalty as the only sanction.

The remarks came after Tottenham’s equaliser, struck by Dominic Solanke in the 70th minute, which City felt should have been disallowed. The striker seemingly kicked through Marc Guéhi’s leg to complete Spurs’ comeback, and the goal stood amid vehement protests from the visitors.

Rodri did not hide his frustration in the immediate aftermath. “I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win but the referee has to be neutral and for me honestly, it’s not fair,” he said. He expanded on that view in the same interview: “It’s not fair because we work so hard in these situations and now to make these decisions, we have to move on. Of course you need to come back but at the end, when everything is finished, we are frustrated because it’s so clear the foul. He kicked the leg and of course with the push of the action on the ball, the ball goes in.”

Rodri also pointed to other contentious decisions affecting City since 2026, including Diogo Dalot avoiding a red card for a tackle on Jérémy Doku in what became a 2–0 win for Manchester United.

Although a domestic ban would not have prevented Rodri from playing in Manchester City’s Champions League round of 16 tie with Real Madrid, the club would have been at risk of losing their midfield anchor in Premier League fixtures. In mitigation, Rodri told the FA: “It doesn’t feel fair when the ultimate result of a match is influenced by an incorrect decision rather than just the performance of the team.”

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Erling Haaland will be available for the Champions League meeting with Real Madrid and suggested the striker will be at his sharpest for the tie.

“I didn’t think to let him play and I prefer him training to make a rhythm,” the Catalan coach told assembled reporters. “After injury, when he drops, he always struggles to have that real pace.” Much to Real Madrid’s chagrin, Haaland should now be back up to speed.

Haaland has appeared intermittently in recent weeks. Guardiola left his No. 9 out of the FA Cup fourth round clash with fourth-tier Salford City before restoring him for the Premier League visit of Newcastle last month. At the Etihad he engaged in a physical, 90-minute battle with the towering Magpies centre back Dan Burn, as Newcastle adopted an aggressive man-marking approach that night, a tactic increasingly common across the Premier League and one which Mikel Arteta has blamed for the rise of set-piece dependency, as Burn latched himself onto Haaland like a Geordie limpet.

“We have to make an alternative to long balls with Erling when he’s up against a player like Burn,” Guardiola fretted. “We have to make an alternative so we still have a dream for him to play and play more, and with man marking that’s difficult.”

City then had seven days to prepare for the trip to Leeds United’s Elland Road yet that was not enough for a full recovery from the Burn encounter. The 25-year-old was, however, fit enough to play the full 90 minutes against Nottingham Forest in the subsequent match. To avoid overloading him, Guardiola adopted a cautious approach for another trip to St James’s Park.

Guardiola pointed to past experience when explaining his management of minutes. “We have experience of that with the treble—you have to arrive in the decisive moment of the season with players,” he said. “It’s a pity that the Premier League is not in our hands. That is a big drop against Nottingham [Forest] but don’t think much, recover, go to Madrid, make a good selection and hopefully we can behave—win or lose—in the way we are.

“That’s always been my focus, when we play on the biggest stages against the big teams it’s not about winning or losing but being who we are as individuals and as a team.”

At a time when every Arsenal match appears to feature a player going down holding a different part of their body, City are emptying their treatment room.

Manchester United have been linked with Como winger Jesús Rodríguez as the club prepares to permanently offload Marcus Rashford this summer. The reported fee for Rashford, around $34.6 million (€30 million, £26 million), is expected to be reinvested on a replacement wide player, with SPORT naming Rodríguez as a target.

Rodríguez first emerged in senior football last season with Real Betis, registering three goals and two assists. Como paid around $31 million to sign him last summer, a club-record move that reflected their belief in the youngster.

Having turned 20 in November, Rodríguez is enjoying a breakthrough campaign. For Cesc Fàbregas’s side this season he has produced eight assists and three goals in 28 appearances. Those numbers underline a clear improvement from earlier in his career, when he faced criticism over a lack of end product. Como and Fàbregas have been credited with helping the player refine his game.

Physically Rodríguez combines height and speed. Listed at 6’0, his acceleration and top speed frequently allow him to overwhelm opponents and he often prefers to use direct running rather than elaborate on-ball play. There are, however, signs of growing variety to his output; only Inter’s Federico Dimarco has created more Serie A goals than Rodríguez this season.

United’s interest in Rodríguez is one strand of a broader search for attacking reinforcements. The report reiterates links to RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye, and also names Strasbourg’s Martial Godo and Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola among options. Marcus Tavernier of Bournemouth was recently touted, and United are also said to hold an interest in Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

Much will come down to finances. Manchester United are known to be prioritizing the heart of midfield ahead of Casemiro’s impending departure and the bulk of the budget is expected to be allocated to midfield targets such as Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton or Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba.