The midfielder was man of the match in the 3-2 victory over Newcastle on Saturday as we produced a stunning comeback to claim all three points.
City fans and his team-mates know exactly the impact that Rodri has had on helping to deliver our success in recent seasons.
But former defender and captain Dunne believes a focus on statistics means the Spaniard can be left out of conversations about the best players in the world.
“He’s probably the one player in the squad we don’t have a like-for-like player who can play that position as well as he can do it,” the City legend said on Matchday Live.
“There’s not many in world football than can do what he’s done.
“The composure that he shows in and out of possession, the leadership, the organisation that he creates – I think the other players enjoy having him on the pitch.
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“They know everything’s fine because Rodri’s behind and you can take certain risks knowing he is in the right position. His covering is spot on, he keeps the ball, he wins tackles, there’s very few things that he can’t do.
“When you’re talking about players with the potential to win Ballons D’Or, sometimes he can be overlooked because he’s not got the goals and the assists but he’s one of the main parts of a giant of a team. He’s the one player that keeps it ticking over.”
Dunne’s former team-mate Paul Dickov was also full of praise for Bernardo Silva and particularly his wonderful opening goal at St James’ Park.
The Portuguese star showed incredible technique to deftly flick in a cross from Kyle Walker with an audacious touch with his right foot on the half-volley.
“It was ridiculous!” the ex-City striker said. “And what makes it even more ridiculous is that it’s with his weaker foot.
“That skill in itself, getting a backheel as the ball’s whipped across to direct it into the goal is hard enough if it’s on your good foot is hard enough never mind if it’s on his bad foot.
“Phil [Foden] and [Jeremy] Doku started wide but they’re playing so narrowly that Kyle has been playing as a winger and [Josko] Gvardiol on the other side looks as though he’s playing as a winger. That allowed us to outnumber Newcastle in the middle of the park.
“But that finish is outrageous. I just started laughing, I didn’t know what else to do. We all know how talented he is but that was ridiculous.”
