Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has challenged the club to find the next Rodri after the influential midfielder completed his move to Barcelona, insisting City have a strong track record of replacing their biggest stars.

Rodri, 30, ended his seven-year spell at Manchester City on Tuesday, bringing an era filled with major honours to a close. During his time at the club, the Spain international won four Premier League titles, the Champions League and two FA Cups.

“I’ll try to find a new Rodri – it is what it is,” Maresca told reporters on Saturday ahead of City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth.

Maresca pointed out that Rodri himself had not yet reached the highest individual and team honours before joining City.

“Rodri, before he arrived here, he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or, he didn’t win the Champions League, he didn’t win the Club World Cup. Then he joined the club, and then he achieved many important things,” he said.

“Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri.”

Although Maresca admitted replacing a player of Rodri’s quality would be extremely difficult, he believes Manchester City’s recruitment strategy has repeatedly helped the club move forward after losing key players.

He highlighted the departures of several club legends as examples.

“When David Silva was here, everyone was worried – Kevin De Bruyne arrived. When Sergio Aguero was here, everyone was worried – Erling Haaland arrived. When Fernandinho left, Rodri arrived. It’s just about this,” Maresca explained.

“When they leave, you need to be good and recruit the next one.”

Rodri leaves City as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner and a key member of Spain’s European Championship-winning side. He further strengthened his legacy by captaining Spain to World Cup glory last month and being named player of the tournament.

His departure is one of several major changes at City during the summer as Maresca continues to reshape the squad.

The City boss also expects more movement before the transfer window closes, but he remains calm amid speculation surrounding Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez.

“We need to adapt and we don’t want to keep players here that don’t want to stay,” Maresca said.

“The normal thing in transfer windows is that you have to wait because all the clubs try to keep players until the last week and then sell for more money.”

He added: “It’s normal. I’m not worried about that. When the transfer window closes and we have all the squad there, for sure it will be different.”