Manchester City veteran Fernandinho has developed into one of the most important players in the clubs recent history.
Superbly sitting in front of the City backline, breaking down attacks and launching the Blues into the counter has been a critical role in Pep Guardiola's sides success.
This summer, with the Brazilian ageing, City opted to sign Rodri, who plays in a similar role to Fernandinho. Despite this competition, the City legend has said the pair will "work closely".
The Brazilian is a Rodri fan
In a recent interview, Fernandinho has talked in more detail about his new teammate, firstly saying “We are going to work closely, and I will be there for him to talk and advise him with whatever he needs" before going on further to state, "but of course he’s already a quality player who I like very much."
He then went on to talk further of the Spaniard's short time at the club.
"He has done really well in pre-season and in the first few games he’s played in the Premier League." he then finished talk about Rodri by saying “He’s tall, technically very good and he’s going to help us a lot this season and for the future.”
It has already been revealed that with City signing Rodri and letting captain Vincent Kompany leave, Fernandinho will often slot in at centre-back and allow Rodri to take his role in midfield.
"Keep moving forward"
Despite the Blues winning two league titles in two years, and also achieving a domestic treble last season, Fernandinho has talked about how the club want to keep moving forward and push on for more success.
“I don’t remember the last time a team won the Premier League three times in a row,” he said. “Normally, it’s human nature to relax once you’ve achieved your targets."
As a leader and one of the more senior players at the club now, the champions' number 25 went on further, “This is going to be hard for us and we’re going to keep the guys’ heads up and keep moving forward." before finishing by saying, "We must dig deep in the dressing room and not just rely on Pep to push us."
The last time a team won three Premier League titles back to back was Manchester United in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
This City side will already go down as one of the greatest in the history of the competition, however, should they achieve three titles in a row, and continue to push on for more success, it could soon be hard to argue against them as the best English side ever.