Why Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the race to sign Rodri

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Rodri’s future has suddenly become a three-way battle. Joining Manchester City and Real Madrid in the tug-of-war for the World Cup winner are Barcelona, who have decided they need additional midfield reinforcements in light of Frenkie de Jong’s latest injury.

What promised to be a straight battle has grown significantly more complicated with the interest of Barca, a third heavyweight, in the Golden Ball winner.

This additional strand in the transfer saga has brought an extra dimension of possibilities for the 30-year-old, who has extra leverage when making contract demands to all three clubs.

Current ETV

Rodri

DM, M (C)

Man City

Rodri

DM, M (C)

Man City

€59.2M

ETV Range

€53.3M - €65.1M

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Rodri’s future: What’s happening?

Rodri is out of contract with Manchester City in 2027. Amid reports that he wants to return back to Spain, this had initially attracted the interest of Real Madrid, who are ready to pay around €50 million to bring the former Atletico Madrid star back to the capital.

City, meanwhile, do not want to lose an iconic player. A new contract is set to be offered to the midfielder, though the prevailing logic is that he will not accept it.

Barcelona have belatedly made their interest in the player known, with a flurry of sources, such as The Athletic, reporting interest from the Catalan side. This interest has come about following the news that De Jong faces weeks, but potentially months, out because of a knee ligament injury.

Real Madrid have the financial edge

Funding a move for Rodri appears complicated for Barcelona. While president Joan Laporta engineered a massive loan agreement leveraged against the club’s TV rights to help fund the summer’s transfer business, there was also an expectation of sizeable sales.

Barca have already signed more than €100m worth of talent in the form of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, but they have only sold €14.5m. This promises to make a deal for Rodri, who will cost at least €50m, highly complicated.

By contrast, Real Madrid’s net spend of around €30m offers them more flexibility to secure the Spain captain – and still have a smaller net outlay than their Clasico rivals.

Los Blancos a better fit

Beyond the financial aspect, Real Madrid have other aspects that make a move to the Bernabeu the more attractive decision.

There’s a clear niche in Jose Mourinho’s side for Rodri to fill. Los Blancos have been in the market for a player of his profile since Toni Kroos retired. He can become the general of the club. At the Bernabeu, he would become just another midfielder.

This is reflected in the analysis of data analytics firm SciSports, which highlights Real Madrid as the optimal destination for Rodri. Using its Career Advice tool, which calculates the suitability of a move based on a wide variety of factors and gives each team a Club Fit score, Mourinho’s men come out comfortably on top.

Indeed, Madrid’s Club Fit score of 85 is very high. By contrast, Barcelona’s is a more modest 73, with this figure primarily dragged down over fears Rodri would not get the playing time he has come to expect. Of course, with De Jong out injured, that is unlikely to be the case, yet the Dutchman may be back within weeks to change that.

Barca's interest is, therefore, likely to be trumped by Real Madrid in what will be seen as another transfer win for Mourinho's men.