Real Madrid Reopens Pursuit of Rodri Amid Mourinho's Demands

Real Madrid pressed pause on Rodri a few weeks ago. Now they’re reaching for the fast‑forward button again.

The Spanish midfielder has been on the club’s radar for some time, but negotiations cooled once Los Blancos accelerated their move for RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande. With that deal now described as virtually done, the Bernabéu hierarchy are circling back to their original target.

According to MARCA, Real Madrid have already reopened the operation for Rodri and are preparing to present a formal offer to Manchester City as soon as Diomande’s signing is officially completed.

Mourinho’s non‑negotiable

Inside Valdebebas, there is no ambiguity about who is driving this. Jose Mourinho has made the arrival of a new midfielder this summer a non‑negotiable point of his rebuilding plan. In his eyes, Rodri is the ideal piece.

The Spaniard fits every demand on Mourinho’s checklist: a leader in the dressing room, tactically versatile, able to dictate the rhythm of a game and provide a creative outlet from deep. It is the classic Mourinho pivot, but with a modern edge.

Initially, the main obstacle came from the very top. Florentino Perez was reported to be unconvinced about the move and stood as the key internal hurdle to Rodri’s arrival. That resistance has now softened. The club president has given the green light, clearing the way for Madrid to move from admiration to negotiation.

From here, it becomes a question of numbers and timing.

City ready to listen

On the surface, it sounds improbable. Manchester City contemplating the sale of a midfielder fresh off a Golden Ball‑winning World Cup campaign? Yet the situation around Rodri’s contract has changed the landscape.

City are aware that the Spaniard is entering the final year of his deal. With no extension agreed, the Premier League champions are open to a transfer if the offer lands in the right financial zone. Current expectations place their valuation between €50 million and €60 million.

That figure is manageable for Madrid, especially for a player they see as the brain of the team for next season and beyond. Inside the club, there is quiet confidence that the deal can be closed, helped by one crucial factor: Rodri’s own desire.

The midfielder is understood to have his heart set on a return to Spain. That alignment of will – Mourinho’s insistence, Perez’s approval, and the player’s preference – gives this pursuit a different weight to a speculative summer rumour.

The profile Mourinho craves

Rodri’s numbers last season in the Premier League were not spectacular on the surface – 21 appearances, one goal – but they tell only a fraction of the story. His influence came in how he stitched City’s play together.

He averaged 1.2 key passes per game and completed 90% of his passes, a combination that underlines both his security in possession and his capacity to break lines. For Mourinho, that blend of control and incision is exactly what he wants at the base of his midfield.

On the international stage, Rodri has been even more emphatic. He was the heartbeat of Spain’s midfield at the recent World Cup, anchoring a side that leaned heavily on his positional sense, calm under pressure, and ability to set the tempo. Those performances confirmed what many already believed: he is among the very best in his position.

Madrid’s next orchestrator?

Real Madrid see that profile and picture him as the next organiser of their game, the man to knit together a squad packed with attacking talent. The idea is simple: make Rodri the reference point, the first name on Mourinho’s teamsheet in the centre of the pitch.

Talks are expected to accelerate in the coming days. With Diomande’s arrival close and Perez now on board, the path is clearer than at any point in recent weeks. City wait for the bid. Madrid prepare it.

If the numbers line up and the will of all three parties holds, the Premier League’s metronome could soon be conducting the rhythm at the Bernabéu.