The Spotify Camp Nou hosts the first Clasico of the 2026-2027 season on Sunday, when Barcelona meet Real Madrid in the tenth round of La Liga.
Rodri, who came on as a substitute against Paris Saint-Germain, is preparing to play his first Clasico against Real Madrid in a Barcelona shirt.
According to a report in the newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Rodri settled into the side quickly. He has already become a beacon of the midfield thanks to his vision, his tactical intelligence and his physical strength, and his personality and experience have made him a leader too.
Put simply, Rodri is now indispensable. That became clear last Tuesday against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, when he started on the bench to get some rest and Barcelona slumped to their first defeat of the season, 4-2.
Two statistics in the Spanish league show Rodri leading the Barcelona ranks: completed passes, with a tally of 613, and interceptions, with a tally of 11.
On the first of those, Rodri sits second across the competition, behind Villarreal defender Renato Veiga, who has completed 614 passes. Many of Veiga's passes carry less risk, though, which is why Rodri is considered the midfielder who passes the ball the most in La Liga.
Remarkable numbers, and all the more so given that Rodri missed one of the nine rounds played so far. He sat out the opener against Elche, having only just joined the team and lacking enough training after returning from the break that followed the World Cup.
He has also played a full match in only 3 of the other eight, coming on as a substitute in two and being withdrawn in three.
On top of all that, Rodri has a nose for goal, even if scoring is not his primary task. He netted his first in a Barcelona shirt at the La Cartuja stadium against Real Betis, making use of one of his distinctive strengths: headers from set pieces, thanks to his build and his height.
Those same qualities help the Catalan side in one area where Barcelona struggle more than any other, namely dealing with set pieces.
One message Rodri repeats is his call for Barcelona not to turn every match into a relentless race of traded attacks, because that invites needless defensive risks.
The player demands an extra pass to keep control of the game, without neglecting the attacking side.
Flick buys into the idea, but the problem is that many of Barcelona's finest players have a direct attacking streak. They burst into the spaces with repeated runs off the ball, prompting their teammates to play direct passes.
Chief among them are Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi.
Real Madrid, remember, thrive on exploiting the spaces opponents leave behind, whether through blistering pace from the likes of Mbappe and Diomande or runners arriving late in the box such as Bellingham and Guler. That makes it essential for Rodri to set the rhythm of the Clasico, and for every teammate to stick to his instructions, especially if Barcelona lose their balance and leave gaps across the pitch.