In hindsight, the decision to put Rodri first in our preseason Premier League Top 50 looks ... even better.
For the first time in Pep Guardiola's eight seasons with Manchester City, they are genuinely in crisis. Not only have they lost five of their past seven and now sit nine points back of first-place Liverpool, but there are no obvious short- or long-term fixes. Other than, well, for Rodri to (A) get healthy and (B) be as good as he was before he tore his ACL against Arsenal earlier this season.
The Rodri situation shows just how difficult it is to assess individual player value in soccer. We've grown more confident in Rodri's incredible value -- by watching Rodri's team playing without Rodri.
And if Rodri was the difference between Manchester City being the best team in the world and Manchester City being, at best, the third-best team in England, then what does that say about his teammates and the other star players across the Premier League?
To try to answer those questions, we're back with this season's third edition of the Premier League Top 50.
