Real Madrid need to sell a player before they're able to sign Rodri this summer, according to the ever-reliable Arancha Rodríguez.
This has been the busiest transfer window for Real Madrid in years. Even the one last year was fairly busy for the first few weeks, with Xabi Alonso and three or four players coming in. But Real Madrid have already signed six players this transfer window, along with José Mourinho, who has also come in for Álvaro Arbeloa. Now they're looking to add a seventh to the squad in Rodri.
But before they can do that, they need to sell players. Real Madrid's current squad has space for one extra player. The last player who will come in will be Yan Diomande, who will probably be announced in the next few days.
That means in order for Real Madrid to have a different player in the squad, whether it's Rodri or anyone else, they would need to sell one of the first-team players.
Franco Mastantuono does not count as a first team Real Madrid player
One of the caveats is that Franco Mastantuono does not count as a first-team player because he has been registered with Castilla. So even if he is sold, he will still not count as a first-team sale.
The players that were close to leaving were Raúl Asencio and Gonzalo García. García has been sold in the last few hours. And the problem with Raúl Asencio is that he is injured now for six weeks.
The Rodri deal wouldn't necessarily be in trouble, but it is certainly an obstacle that Real Madrid will have to work around in the best possible way because whatever players they want to sell, some of them don't want to leave, and some of them are injured.
Perhaps there is one player that could potentially leave Real Madrid this summer after the signing of Carlos Espí. Endrick is now facing competition from Carlos Espí as a backup striker and Brahim Díaz as a backup winger. Diomande and Kylian Mbappé will presumably be starters, so they're also the players that Endrick will have to worry about.
Obviously, it's not set in stone which player will leave and which players will stay, but Endrick at the moment looks like the most obvious option, which is also incredibly sad because Endrick is one of the most talented players in the squad.
Real Madrid could always just sell Ferland Mendy
There's also the case of Ferland Mendy. Somehow, he's still in the squad, and surely if they don't want to sell Endrick, it would be better off terminating the contract of a player who has not added any value to the squad for the last couple of years.
Mendy was amazing for Real Madrid in his prime, but his prime was years ago, and he has not had a continuous stretch of games in a very long time.
It remains to be seen what Real Madrid do to sign Rodri, but one thing is certain: these sales will probably not stop them from signing the one player they need the most this season. They will find a way.
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