Although Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme was boasting about Rodri being a confirmed signing for him if he were to be elected, the Manchester City defensive midfielder has since revealed that, just as was the case with Erling Haaland, there was no truth to him being a signed, sealed, and delivered deal for the presidential hopeful.
Meanwhile, Florentino Perez has not seemed at all interested in Rodri. In his latest report, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Rodri has never been a topic for Florentino personally, and now that Jose Mourinho has pushed Real Madrid to sign Rodri's Manchester City teammate Bernardo Silva, the transfer rumors of Rodri are "over" for the summer.
So in light of Fab dropping the hammer on Rodri, here are five players who fit Jose Mourinho better and are young midfielders that Real Madrid could sign instead.
Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez is the only player in midfield to be linked to Real Madrid than Rodri, and he actually makes more sense. While he would be more expensive, if Real Madrid do spend 150 million euros on him to break the record mark Chelsea paid to Benfica for the World Cup winner, then Florentino Perez could always try to play it off that Enzo was the Galactico all along. The Argentinian has his flaws, but he is a great goal scoring midfielder with the technical quality to preside over games. He' also a few years younger than Rodri.
Sandro Tonali, Newcastle
Compared to Andrea Pirlo when he was coming up at both Brescia and AC Milan, Sandro Tonali is the sale the Rossoneri will forever regret. He still has not reached the world class heights, but Tonali is a great athlete and technician who can play that regista role with more box to box robustness than his idol. Tonali is not spoken about a lot on the transfer rumor mill for Real Madrid, but he is a strong contender.
Adam Wharton, Crystal Palace
The young Adam Wharton is the future of the England midfield and a truly special deep lying playmaker. He has shown great assist providing and chance creation capabilities, and while he will be expensive and not without risk, he could be the gamble worth taking to beat out Aurelien Tchouameni.
Mateus Fernandes, West Ham United
It is not often Real Madrid want to sign players from a relegated team, but Mateus Fernandes is another Portuguese international Jose Mourinho is pushing to sign after the Bernardo Silva deal. A U21 player who shone brightly in all phases despite his team's incompetence, Fernandes is a high risk, high reward target.
Morten Hjulmand, Sporting CP
Actually the first name to be linked to Real Madrid when the Jose Mourinho rumors initially began, Morten Hjulmand is a quality defensive midfielder who can set the tempo and win possession. He's not as much of a pure talent as the others, but Mourinho is very familiar with his game in Portuguese football.
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