Although Real Madrid have not yet sealed a transfer for Manchester City superstar Rodri, it feels like a mere formality at this point, unless Man City follow through on the threat to just keep the player for a year and make one more Champions League push with the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner in order to prevent Real from having the advantage. But that would be a cruel outcome, given all Rodri has done for Man City and how he has made it clear for months that he wants to pursue a dream move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former Atletico Madrid man will still cost easily upwards of 50 million euros, with the exact price being the main sticking point in negotiations between the two modern day Champions League rivals. And thus, Rodri would be the unquestioned starting No. 6 for the Merengues over Aurelien Tchouameni, though the Frenchman did recently sign a lucrative contract extension through the 2030/31 season, seemingly sealing him as the solution for Jose Mourinho.
It did not take long for Mou to pivot to Rodri, who dominated both Tchouameni and Enzo Fernandez in Spain's two biggest games of the 2026 World Cup en route to winning the Golden Ball of the tournament, once Florentino Perez changed his mind about the defensive midfielder as a target.
Real Madrid still have a need for Aurelien Tchouameni
In order to sign Rodri, though, another big sticking point is that Real Madrid need a departure. They need to get rid of a midfielder to make way for the best No. 6 on the planet. Jose and Madrid have already made it clear to Eduardo Camavinga that due to his lack of progress, he needs to leave the club and will not have enough minutes or a clear role at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Camavinga is, so far, not agreeing to leave, and while that is admirable on some level and the player is a huge talent, somebody has to leave in order for Rodri to upgrade a midfield that has lost control over games without Toni Kroos.
The other option, then, would be Aurelien Tchouameni. But even though he has been nearly as disappointing as Camavinga over the past couple of seasons - hence why Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid executives badly want Rodri - he is the only other No. 6 in the squad. Whereas Real Madrid have two world class No. 8's in Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham who make Camavinga redundant (plus new Jose signing Bernardo Silva), Rodri would have zero cover if Tchouameni were sold.
So that is the biggest reason why Tchouameni is going to stay. Rodri just had back surgery that will need weeks to recover, and his ACL tear in 2024/25 was a huge reason why Florentino Perez was so reluctant to sign him this summer in the first place.
Tchouameni's new contract would not prevent a sale, and it might actually make it easier for Real Madrid to get a good fee for the Frenchman with the player being securely under contract. But what makes Tchou more valuable to Camavinga is the combination of Rodri's injury history and the lack of depth in the 6 spot, especially with Real Madrid keen on loaning Thiago Pitarch to Alvaro Arbeloa of Fulham.
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