Real Madrid are hunting for their next big midfield signing for Jose Mourinho, who is also trying to close in on his fourth new defender. The main candidates for the midfiield are currently Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez, West Ham's Mateus Fernandes (a personal favorite of Jose's), and World Cup breakout star Ayyoub Bouaddi from Ligue 1 side Lille.
Before Fernandes and Bouaddi became big topics for Real Madrid, the main debate was actually about Spanish international Rodri vs. his fellow Premier League star Enzo from Chelsea. Rodri and Enzo have both been desperate to join Real Madrid, but Florentino Perez never seemed to be a fan of Rodri's, whereas he appears to really like the Argentinian international as a signing. And Mourinho does not seem to be huge on Rodri as a top target either, otherwise he would be a topic of conversation again.
That said, one of the big reasons why Florentino didn't want Rodri was because of the potential price tag. Real Madrid did not want to pay a big fee for a player nearing the age of 30 and coming off an ACL tear not so long ago.
Real Madrid get more interested in free agents
According to the latest from Fabrizio Romano, perhaps Rodri could be Real Madrid's next blockbuster signing as a free agent in 2027. Fab says that Manchester City and Rodri have still not agreed to a new deal in contract negotiations despite Man City offering the Spanish star a deal months ago. Romano notes Rodri "could leave" as a free agent in 2027 if no deal is struck.
So if Real Madrid want another marquee Spanish star in their squad after picking up the 60 million euro left back Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, then Rodri is a potential free agent market opportunity for them.
Real Madrid have made two big free agent signings this year in Rodri's Manchester City teammate Bernardo Silva for the midfield, and they also snagged long time target Ibrahima Konate from Liverpool and the French national team.
Los Blancos have been fans of these free agent deals over the years, with the likes of David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger leading the team to Champions League titles as free agents for the defense. Rodri is a former Ballon d'Or winner, and while he is getting up there in age and not totally the same after the injury, he is still a great midfield player and more worth it for Real if he is free.
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