Rodri and Spain have advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, as they outlasted Portugal in what will now be known as Cristiano Ronaldo's final match with a late goal from center midfielder Mikel Merino - and old La Liga foe of Real Madrid's who always seems to come up big in the clutch, especially nowadays for Arsenal and Spain.
But the Man of the Match was Rodri, who controlled the entire play and reminded the world that while everyone has been going crazy over the PSG duo of Vitinha and Joao Neves, Rodri is still the one who stole that Ballon d'Or from Vinicius Junior after his great season with Manchester City in 2023/24.
During the game, though, Rodri also made headlines for a little spat with his now ex teammate Bernardo Silva, who just got the big Real Madrid transfer from Jose Mourinho that the Spanish defensive midifelder has been practically begging for.
Rodri has been dreaming of Real Madrid
Silva had a massive miss with Portugal down with just seconds left in the game, airing a great headed opportunity over the bar because he was not able to get over the ball (due to his height). It was a cruel miss for Portugal, particularly with the greatest header of the ball of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, standing behind him. Rodri mocked the miss, with Silva and his former Man City teammate sharing some choice words for several seconds afterwards.
With the game over and the adrenaline gone, Rodri had the decency to apologize to Bernardo Silva for his actions, via Madrid Xtra, “I apologize to Bernardo Silva for celebrating his miss in the last play. It was my fault.”
Rodri is hoping to join Silva as a future teammate, not just a former one at Man City, by joining Real Madrid. Although Florentino Perez has been uninterested in his overt overtures, including over the top praise for Madrid at the spring international break, that could change in the future if others in the building continue to want Rodri, especially if Jose Mourinho has a change of heart.
One of the big things against Rodri was paying Manchester City a significant fee for a player with one year left on his contract. Real Madrid love their veteran free agent transfers like Ibrahima Konate, Antonio Rudiger, and David Alaba. With a big 2026/27 season for the Premier League giants and continued big game performances, Rodri could yet change the narrative and join for free. Staying in the good graces of Silva and the other Madrid players can't hurt.
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