Rodri, the 29-year-old midfielder for Manchester City, has indicated he would consider joining city rivals Real Madrid despite his past with Atletico Madrid. Speaking to Spanish media, Rodri stressed that being a former Atletico player “doesn’t rule you out” from joining top clubs.
“Not immediately, but over time. For me, you can’t turn down the best clubs in the world,” he said.
Rodri, who joined City from Atletico in 2019 and has made 293 appearances, will be out of contract next summer. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner emphasized he “needs to sit down and talk” with Manchester City but expressed a desire to return to Spain in the future.
He highlighted that several players have moved between Atletico and Real, including Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata, often with stints at other clubs in between.
At City, Rodri has won 12 major trophies under Pep Guardiola, including four Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League crown. He has played 18 Premier League games this season after recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in 2024.
When asked about Real Madrid president Florentino Perez’s reported admiration for him, Rodri said: “I don’t know – they don’t talk to me directly. They’d talk to my agent.”
Rodri has been named in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad for upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Egypt as he eyes a place in this summer’s World Cup across the US, Mexico, and Canada. He has 59 caps for Spain and won the European Championships in 2024 and the UEFA Nations League in 2023.
