Real Madrid were closely linked to a new No. 6 at the base of the midfield this summer transfer window, but they suddenly changed their minds and decided to extend Aurelien Tchouameni instead, signing the Frenchman to a new deal through the 2030/31 season just when it seemed like they were opening up to selling him to Manchester United or Chelsea.
But despite the rumors, Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid never wavered in their faith in Tchou. They let Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali go to Tottenham Hotspur without even fighting for either, they released a literal statement emphatically denying any present or future interest in Enzo Fernandez, and from the very beginning, Florentino Perez made it clear he was not going after Rodri.
The lack of interest in Rodri, though, has surprised Madridistas. Even though Rodri is 30, he is a Ballon d'Or winner, a crucial player for the Spanish national team, a proven winner with Manchester City, and someone at a high technical level who is very, very publicly interested in joining Real Madrid - and he has only one year left on his contract.
Rodri continues to divide opinion
Now, The Athletic are reporting something very interesting about Real Madrid. While they report, which others in the Spanish media continue to corroborate, that Florentino remains thoroughly uninterested in signing the Man City veteran midfielder, that opinion is not unanimous behind the scenes at the Valdebebas.
In fact, per The Athletic, there are peopel genuinely surprised that Real Madrid still will not go after Rodri, even though he is dominating the World Cup like his pre ACL injury self, including totally shutting down the French national team in the semifinals. There are actually many players in the Real Madrid locker room who think Rodri would be a great signing for the club, and they are as surprised as Rodri that Real Madrid are not going after the player.
There are a couple of legitimate reasons why Real Madrid are not going for Rodri. The first is that his wages and transfer fee would be very expensive, and if Real were to sign him, it would make more sense to wait a year for him to be free. The second is that Rodri is getting older at 30 and coming off an ACL tear, and he was never an elite athlete to begin wtih; he can be vulnerable on the counter and too slow defensively, which is a huge issue in this system for the No. 6.
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