In an interview with a Spanish radio program recently, Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder, spoke about transfer rumors linking him to Real Madrid, stating that “you cannot reject the biggest club in the world.” Fabrizio Romano later revealed on his podcast that Florentino Pérez holds Rodri in high regard, and Real Madrid appreciates it when players publicly express their willingness to join the club in interviews.
Fabrizio Romano:
This breaking news comes from Spain. It is the international break now, with players reporting for national team duty and taking the opportunity to give some interviews, which they usually do not do while at their clubs, as there are often more restrictions at club level. When players are with their national teams in their home countries, interview rules are understandably different. Such is the case with Rodri, who, during his time with the Spanish national team, gave an interview to a Spanish radio station and spoke about Real Madrid.
I have told you that Real Madrid are monitoring Rodri’s contract situation with Manchester City, and I will share some details of this story soon. But tonight, Rodri spoke publicly about Real Madrid and made a very, very important statement, saying: “I have one year left on my contract at Manchester City, and at some point we will talk.” He also expressed his wish to return to La Liga at some point in his career.
Then came the question: “You used to play for Atlético Madrid, would that prevent you from playing for Real Madrid?” Rodri replied: “No, you cannot reject the best club in the world.” So Rodri has made it very clear that he has not completely closed the door to Real Madrid. This is a significant statement, made publicly and on camera.
In recent weeks, as I have reported on Real Madrid’s potential move for him, some people at Real Madrid and Manchester City, fans, and figures within football have said: “Yes, but do you remember what happened between Rodri and Vinícius Jr. over the Ballon d’Or?” And Rodri also addressed this in the interview: “People have tried to create a rivalry between Vinícius and me, but there is no problem between Vinícius and me. It is not me or anyone else who decides who wins the Ballon d’Or. It is decided by different people. It is not me, it is not Vinícius. I have enormous respect for him.”
So in this interview, Rodri made several key points: first, his contract situation must be taken into account; second, he wants to return to Spain at some stage of his career; third, Rodri stated he would be open to joining Real Madrid; fourth, there is no rift between Rodri and Vinícius Jr. The message from Rodri is extremely clear.
There is also some context to add regarding Rodri’s situation. Generally speaking, Real Madrid very much likes it when players express their desire to join the club, whether privately or publicly. Real Madrid enjoys this kind of exposure and wants to see players’ willingness to move. The club is happy to see such situations, as with Trent Alexander-Arnold and several other players.
While Rodri did not directly say “sign me for Real Madrid”, publicly stating that he is not opposed to Real Madrid with only one year left on his contract is a major declaration.
Additionally, according to my information, Florentino Pérez greatly admires Rodri, regards him as a world-class player, and is a big fan of his playing style. Florentino Pérez also wants Real Madrid to have more Spanish players; young talents like Pírez making the first team is obviously good news for Real Madrid and their youth academy. Although Rodri is no longer young, he is a Ballon d’Or winner and a top, even historic, player given his contributions to Manchester City and the Spanish national team.
Then there is the financial aspect, which I will cover in future reports. But what is certain is that Rodri’s comments on Vinícius Jr. are also significant, as Vinícius has often been drawn into the conversation whenever Rodri is linked with Real Madrid. Now, Rodri’s public statements have put an end to all rumors of a rift between the two players.
