Barcelona’s Rodri was stunned at the level of football in 5-0 La Liga win over Valencia

FC Barcelona midfielder Rodri was caught on audio slamming the level of football Valencia played in their recent 5-0 La Liga win.

Rodri returned to La Liga after seven years in the Premier League’s modern dynasty, Manchester City, winning five league titles and the 2023 Champions League, which led to a rare European treble.

The PL is considered the highest level of club football, and Rodri’s scathing comments on a top Spanish side like Valencia might have opened his eyes to the difference in class between the leagues.

Rodri slams ‘really lazy’ Valencia after subbing out in dominant win

Rodri earned his first start for Barcelona in this game on Sunday, and was subbed out at the 62nd minute with Barcelona up 3-0.

He was stunned at the poor level of his opponents, complaining about the same to defender Pau Cubarsi.

“These guys are really lazy, really lazy. Really bad. They’re really weak. They’re really weak, man. Really bad. They’re terrible. How did Valencia finish last year? They haven’t even crossed the halfway line in the second half.”

Barcelona’s Rodri was stunned at the

Rodri could not believe that Valencia almost got a spot in Europe as the ninth-placed team in the 2025-26 La Liga, missing out on the Conference League by just two points.

The Valencia of last season is clearly a very different side, as this season they have started the season with just one point in their first four games, sitting last in La Liga.

Manager Carlos Corberan is already under pressure, and the comments of the reigning FIFA World Cup MVP and a former Ballon d’Or winner like Rodri will worsen the situation.

Rodri has played at the highest level of European club football over the last decade and is considered one of the best midfielders of this generation.

If he can plainly spot how bad this level of football was from Valencia, it might be a way of criticising the standards of the league as a whole, as we have never seen Rodri visibly stunned at poor football being played when he was in the PL.

It’ll be interesting to see how he feels after playing more mid-table and lower-end teams and then comparing it to the intensity of an El Clasico, against Real Madrid.

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