Barcelona midfielder Rodri has apologised to Valencia captain Jose Gaya and the club’s players after appearing to describe the La Liga side as “very weak” during Sunday’s 5-0 defeat by Barcelona.
The 30-year-old was reportedly caught making the remark to Barcelona teammates Pau Cubarsi and Raphinha while on the bench after being substituted.
Although the footage contained no audio, broadcaster Movistar claimed to have lip-read Rodri saying: “They’re really weak. They haven’t got past the halfway line.”
The alleged comments drew criticism from Valencia supporters and sections of the Spanish media, with Rodri accused of disrespecting the struggling club.
Rodri, however, said the remark was an expression of surprise and was not intended to ridicule Valencia.
“I apologised to my friend and colleague Jose Gaya and to the entire squad as well,” Rodri said after Barcelona’s 5-1 Champions League victory over Feyenoord on Wednesday.
“I also want to make it clear that it was simply an expression of surprise – anyone watching the video can see that.”
“At no point did I intend to mock anyone or take a difficult moment for a team out of context,” he added.
The midfielder also expressed his support for Valencia’s return to better fortunes, describing them as one of the competition’s top clubs.
“Quite the opposite – we all want Valencia to return to where it belongs in the league, it is one of the best clubs in the competition. I simply wanted to say that.”
Rodri further stressed that the exchange was private and said the episode highlighted how comments can be misunderstood when taken out of context.
“I would also add that it was a private conversation; I think we should all learn a bit more from this, as things really do get taken out of context sometimes,” Rodri said.
“But at no point did I mean any disrespect. My apologies to Valencia.”
