Rodri Moves Closer to Real Madrid as City Softens Stance
The long flirtation between Rodri and Real Madrid is accelerating towards its climax. In Spain, they are talking about hours now, not weeks.
According to AS, both Real president Florentino Pérez and coach José Mourinho have given the green light for the signing of the 30-year-old Manchester City midfielder. An agreement is described as imminent, with the paper even speaking of a “solution within the next 24 hours”. Club representatives are expected to meet on Thursday to try to close the deal at last.
A superstar at a cut‑price fee
The numbers have shifted dramatically.
Early in the saga, reports across Europe floated a €100 million fee, a figure said to match City’s demands for one of their most important players. AS now claims the conversation has moved to a very different range: between €40 million and €50 million, to be paid to the English champions.
If that proves accurate, Madrid would be landing the best player at the 2026 World Cup, a Ballon d'Or winner and the heartbeat of City’s recent dominance for roughly half of the original projections. For a club that has built an era on elite midfield control, that is the kind of market opportunity they rarely ignore.
City relent as contract clock ticks
The shift in price mirrors a shift in mood in Manchester.
Marca reported on Tuesday that City, who had initially shown little interest in even discussing Rodri’s departure, have softened. The paper quoted the club’s stance in clear terms: the English side, who “hold the player in the highest regard”, will accept his exit if that is what he decides.
Behind that change lies a hard deadline. City have spent months trying to extend Rodri’s contract ahead of schedule. The deal currently runs until 2027. If they want to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing next year, this transfer window is their last realistic chance to secure a substantial fee.
The pressure finally told. Madrid sensed it. So did Rodri.
Rodri’s dream and Madrid’s succession plan
The midfielder has never hidden what the Bernabéu represents to him.
Fabrizio Romano has repeatedly reported that Rodri would “love” a move to Real and “dream” of wearing the famous white shirt. In March, in a separate interview, the Spaniard admitted that you “cannot just easily turn Real down” if they come calling.
This is not a new crush from Madrid’s side either. Rodri has been on their wishlist for some time, especially as the club plan for life after their legendary midfield duo. With Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić nearing the end of their era, the search for a long-term successor has been relentless. When Rodri lifted the Ballon d'Or on the back of an outstanding 2023/24 season, speculation surged that Los Blancos had quietly identified him as the man to take that mantle – a twist of irony given Real’s boycott of the award ceremony itself.
The football logic is obvious. Rodri offers the positional discipline of a holding midfielder, the passing range of a deep-lying playmaker and the authority of a leader who has already dominated Europe. Slot him into Madrid’s evolving core and the next iteration of their midfield almost writes itself.
A return to a familiar city
For Rodri, this would not just be a transfer. It would be a return.
He grew up in Atlético Madrid’s youth system and spent the 2018/19 season with Real’s city rivals before heading to Manchester. A move back to the Spanish capital would drop him into the same city, but a very different shirt, a very different pressure, and a very different chapter of his career.
That, perhaps, is what gives this story its edge. A former Atlético product, a current Manchester City pillar, preparing to anchor the midfield of Real Madrid – a club that once refused to stand and applaud his Ballon d'Or coronation.
Now they are ready to build around him.
If the final details fall into place on Thursday, the next great Madrid midfield might just start with a player who once looked destined to define another club’s future.
