Spain captain’s contract stand-off puts Etihad hierarchy in a difficult position just weeks into Enzo Maresca’s reign
Manchester City have told Real Madrid they want €75m (£64.2m) for Rodri this summer, with the Spanish giants now in direct negotiations with the Premier League club over a deal for their World Cup-winning midfielder.
The two clubs are understood to have opened formal talks this week, according to Sportskeeda, with City holding firm on their valuation while Real Madrid have so far only been willing to go above €50m.
That gap of roughly £21m leaves the two sides some distance apart, but sources close to the negotiations suggest neither party views it as an unbridgeable one, given how strongly Rodri himself is said to want the move.
A defining decision for City’s new era
The timing could hardly be more sensitive. Rodri has been central to City’s success for the best part of five years, and any departure would land just as Enzo Maresca settles into life as Pep Guardiola’s successor at the Etihad.
Having watched Rodri anchor the treble-winning side from close quarters as Guardiola’s assistant in 2022–23, Maresca is acutely aware of what the 30-year-old means to the way City are set up to play.
City’s stated position remains that they do not want to sell. But that stance is complicated by Rodri’s contract situation: he has only a year left on his deal, and with no fresh terms agreed, the club face the prospect of losing their Ballon d’Or winner for nothing in 2027 if they hold out and he still leaves.
That risk of a free transfer is understood to be a significant factor in City’s willingness to engage in talks at all, even at a price some feel undersells his true worth.
Rodri’s own comments earlier this year have only added weight to the transfer talk. Speaking to Spanish radio station Onda Cero in March, he made his feelings fairly clear.
“I’ve got a year left on my contract [at City] and at some point we’ll have to sit down and talk,” he said. “I’d like to return [to La Liga], obviously.”
Asked whether his history at Atletico Madrid would rule out a move across the city to Real, he suggested it would not necessarily be a barrier, pointing out that other players have made similar switches before.
Real Madrid’s summer spending spree continues
A move for Rodri would extend what has already been a striking summer of recruitment at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid have brought in Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Marc Cucurella and Carlos Espi, as well as prising former City winger Bernardo Silva away from the Etihad.
Adding the Ballon d’Or holder and newly-crowned World Cup Player of the Tournament to that list would represent a considerable statement of intent from the club.
For their part, City are not without a contingency plan. Reports suggest the club have identified Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi as a possible long-term replacement in central midfield, should Rodri’s exit go through.
Whether that would be enough to soften the blow of losing a player many regard as the best defensive midfielder of his generation is another matter entirely.
Not everyone believes City should even be entertaining the idea. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been among those urging the club to keep hold of Rodri for the final year of his contract rather than cash in now.
Carragher argued that unless an offer was “really special,” there was little logic in selling a player of his importance for a fee in the £40m-£50m range floated earlier in the window.
