Real Madrid used to sign players after sensational World Cups, including players who were not previously household names. Two of their most famous acquisitions were goalkeeper Keylor Navas and attacking midfielder James Rodriguez after their heroics for underdogs Costa Rica and Colombia, respectively, in the 2014 World Cup, and both of them, especially Navas, became key players and Champions League winners.
But football has changed these days, and international tournaments no longer carry the weight they once did. In fact, a lot of players are ripe for being overvalued at World Cups with the top players burned out, more unequal competition in bigger tournaments, and a general lack of quality at the international evel.
Real Madrid don't care about the World Cup
So even though Real Madrid did become more interested in Spanish national team star Rodri after he played so well in the biggest games of the World Cup knockouts that he won the tournament's Golden Ball for champions Spain after turning Aurelien Tchouameni and Enzo Fernandez into mince meat, that was only enough to even get Florentino Perez to show any interest in Rodri at all after previously showing zero for months despite the player practically begging for a Santiago Bernabeu move on his knees in March.
The reality is that while Florentino was willing to bid his minimum amount for Rodri, he was unwilling to totally change his mind about paying significantly more than 50 million euros for a 30 year old player coming off an ACL tear, heading for back surgery, and with no resale value on an expiring contract. No matter how good he was at the World Cup, that was a seven game tournament, and Rodri didn't have to do a whole lot of running, and it is not like he was challenged all that much in midfield either for most of the tournament.
Real Madrid do not want to overvalue players off small sample sizes against weaker competition than the elite of the Champions League during the World Cup. They want to pay premium prices for premium players on the world stage, and if Manchester City are willing to sell Rodri this summer, then Real Madrid have to be thinking twice about how valuable he actually is. Because if he really is the best No. 6 in the world bar none with no future risk, then why would Man City be so willing to sell to the highest bidder? Florentino isn't going to change his mind completely as a result of the World Cup, and that is the new policy Real have.
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