Rodri's Potential Move to Real Madrid: Final Hours of Negotiation

The long courtship between Real Madrid and Rodri is closing in on its decisive moment. In Spain, the expectation is clear: this saga is entering its final 24 hours.

According to AS, both Real president Florentino Pérez and coach José Mourinho have given their approval to move for the 30-year-old Manchester City midfielder, clearing the final internal hurdle at the Bernabéu. Representatives of both clubs are due to meet on Thursday, with the deal expected to be tied up once and for all.

A deal at half the original price

The numbers tell their own story.

Early in the summer, various reports put City’s demands at around €100 million for their midfield cornerstone, a figure that reflected his status as one of the best players in the world and a newly crowned world champion. AS now claims the fee being discussed is dramatically lower, in the region of €40–50 million, which Real would pay to City.

If that price holds, it would represent a major victory for Madrid’s negotiating team and a clear sign that City’s position has shifted.

City finally blink

That softening had already been flagged in Spain. Marca reported on Tuesday that the Premier League champions, who had initially appeared unwilling to contemplate losing such a key figure, are now prepared to accept his departure if that is what Rodri wants.

The club, it is said, “hold the player in the highest regard” but will not stand in his way should he decide his future lies in Madrid.

City’s attempts to lock Rodri down underline how reluctant they were to reach this point. They have spent weeks and months trying to extend a contract that already runs to 2027, and those efforts have gone nowhere. With his deal edging towards its final stretch, this window is their last realistic opportunity to secure a significant fee rather than risk an exit without compensation further down the line.

The pressure has built steadily. Now, it looks like City are ready to cash in.

A dream move taking shape

Rodri’s stance has never been a secret.

The midfielder has repeatedly indicated he is open to joining Real Madrid. Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has written that Rodri would “love” the move and “dream” of wearing the famous white shirt, and the player himself said in March that you “cannot just easily turn Real down” if an offer arrives.

For Madrid, this is not an impulse signing. Rodri has been on their wishlist for some time, earmarked as a natural heir to the legendary axis of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. His Ballon d’Or triumph after a stunning 2023/24 season only intensified the noise, with reports in Spain at the time suggesting that Los Blancos saw him as the man to anchor their midfield for the next era.

The irony was hard to miss: talk of Real building around the new Ballon d’Or winner while the club itself boycotted the ceremony that crowned him.

Back to Madrid, across the divide

If the deal goes through, Rodri’s move will carry a powerful twist.

This would not be a first taste of the Spanish capital, but a return. He came through the youth ranks at Atlético Madrid and spent the 2018/19 season in the first team before leaving for City. A comeback to Madrid, this time in the white of Atlético’s fiercest rivals, would add another layer of tension to an already charged city rivalry.

From Atlético’s academy to Manchester, from world champion and Ballon d’Or winner to potential lynchpin of Real’s next great midfield: the arc is unmistakable.

Now all that remains is for Thursday’s meeting to deliver what the last few months have been building towards. If both clubs finally shake hands, the most coveted holding midfielder in world football will walk back into Madrid — and straight into the heart of Real’s future.