The Spanish midfielder, making his first official start for Barcelona since his €60 million move from Manchester City this summer, spoke candidly with teammate Pau Cubarsí on the bench after both players were substituted with the game already settled, unaware that cameras from Movistar's 'El Día Después' were capturing the exchange.
Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win at the Mestalla, with two goals from Lamine Yamal either side of strikes from Fermín López, Raphinha and Pedri, a scoreline that confirmed the scale of the crisis engulfing Valencia both on and off the pitch this season. Rodri himself was withdrawn in the first half after picking up a yellow card, with defender Eric García also forced off following an accidental collision with him.
"Very weak, these guys are very weak," Rodri could be heard telling Cubarsí. "They're very bad, man, really bad."
When the Catalan centre-back mentioned Valencia's near miss on European qualification the previous season, Rodri appeared genuinely taken aback, asking: "How did Valencia finish last year?"
Cubarsí replied that they had come close to qualifying for Europe, prompting Rodri to react with visible disbelief. He added moments later: "They haven't been past the halfway line all second half."
Rodri's comments were made with no apparent awareness they would be broadcast, and unlike in the Premier League, where every touchline exchange risks being picked up by pitch-side microphones, he appeared unprepared for the scrutiny that comes with cameras trained on a La Liga bench throughout a match.
Most of the reaction from Valencia supporters has focused less on Rodri's honesty and more on the substance of what he said, given the scale of the defeat and the wider troubles at the club, which has faced years of criticism over its ownership and transfer strategy.
Valencia's capitulation extended a difficult run for a club with a proud history in Spanish football, and Rodri's remarks, however indiscreet, reflected a view shared by many observers of Sunday's game at Mestalla.
It capped an eventful first start for Rodri in Barcelona colours, with the World Cup winner watching the second-half goals unfold from the bench alongside Cubarsí after his early withdrawal.