As Real Madrid fight to sign the former Ballon d'Or winner Rodri in the midfield from Manchester City after months of Florentino Perez and the club denying this obvious blockbuster transfer for new manager Jose Mourinho, it has been speculated that Man City could suddenly deny their Champions League rivals at the door steps and run down the player's contract.
After all, Rodri is the reigning Golden Ball at the World Cup and can turn the tide of any game against any opponent, as he showed by dominating Enzo Fernandez and Argentina, as well as current Real Madrid starting No. 6 Aurelien Tchouameni and his loaded French national team attack in front of him.
But while Man City can threaten to keep Rodri and use that to drive up the price for the superstar No. 6, Real Madrid have a reason to see past that and feel as though Man City are guaranteed into selling the player.
There is no reason to keep Rodri now
That is because, as Fabrizio Romano reports, Manchester City are confident in signing Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was actually one of the top transfer targets for Real Madrid during the beginning of the summer 2026 transfer window around the time of his breakout performance against Vinicius Junior, Casemiro, and the Brazil national team at the World Cup.
Bouaddi fell off Real's radar after getting owned by other teams, including the aforementioned French national side, but Man City have always been highly interested in a player who is seen as the next Rodri - the best of the prospects in the defensive midfield.
Per Fab, Man City are accelerating their talk with Lille to sign Bouaddi this summer and are increasingly optimistic now. The other thing is, when he joins depends on exits, specifically Rodri's, and though Ayyoub Bouaddi is young and is someone Manchester City can wait on to join in 2027, Rodri being sold this year would make it easier to facilitate Bouaddi's signing, especially for 2026.
So at this point, with Man City locked in on Bouaddi and Rodri not having his heart in Manchester but rather at the Santiago Bernabeu, it makes zero sense for the Citizens to hold onto the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner. Rodri has chosen his path for Real Madrid, and Man City can rebuild in the post Pep Guardiola era with a new midfielder. As much as Rodri is loved, Enzo Maresca and the rest will want to move on, too.
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