Rodri says Barcelona can win Champions League but are not favourites

Rodri believes Barcelona have a realistic chance of winning the UEFA Champions League this season but says they cannot yet be regarded as the favourites.

Hansi Flick’s side have made an impressive start, scoring 21 goals and conceding four in their past five matches in all competitions. They have also begun their Champions League campaign positively and currently sit third in the league phase standings, behind defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

However, the Spain international says Barcelona must improve before they can be considered the team most likely to lift the trophy.

“The Champions League is possible, but I don’t think we are the favourites,” Rodri told Mundo Deportivo.

Rodri recently joined Barcelona after his spell with Manchester City and believes European success would represent a significant stage in the club’s attempt to re-establish themselves among the continent’s leading teams.

“I clearly see it as a possible title, and it is, if you can put it that way, that remaining step for us to establish ourselves and show Europe the nature of the team we represent,” he said.

“From this standpoint I don’t think we are the favourites, because we must understand where we came from and understand what it takes to be champions, and this team still needs to correct several things to become champions.”

Barcelona have not won the Champions League since 2015, when they beat Juventus 3-1 in the final in Berlin. Their progress in Europe since then has been marked by a series of disappointing eliminations and heavy defeats.

They were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 in 2020/21, followed by consecutive group-stage exits in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Barcelona returned to the quarter-finals in 2023/24 but were again beaten by Paris Saint-Germain.

The Catalan club reached the semi-finals in 2024/25, where they lost to Inter Milan in a seven-goal aggregate thriller. Their 2025/26 campaign ended in the quarter-finals after Atletico Madrid won 3-2 on aggregate.

Rodri says his arrival, together with the experience of Barcelona’s other senior players, brings an expectation that they will help the club make the final step towards European success.

“Players like myself were bought for this purpose. I think the Champions League is not necessarily for the best team but a tournament of moments,” he said.

“In the Champions League, you have to control the moments in the knockouts. Red cards, penalties, conceding goals. These are the things that define whether you qualify or not. After all, before you win, you must lose, and you must learn.”