Manchester City midfielder Rodri has refused to rule out a future move to Real Madrid, despite his past as an Atlético Madrid player.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is now back playing regularly for City after a long recovery from a cruciate ligament injury suffered in 2024.
Rodri — who played for Atletico’s academy, and then starred for the first team in 2018-19 before joining City — has just over a year left on his contract with the Premier League club, with his deal up in June 2027.
Having been linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer, he was careful not to dismiss the possibility in a radio interview on Thursday, when asked if his Atlético past made such a switch impossible.
“No, no,” Rodri told Onda Cero. “There have been a lot of players who have taken that path. Above all, when they’ve not done it directly, but over time. For me, you can’t rule out the best clubs in the world.”
Rodri spent six years in Atletico’s youth system before being released, and joining Villarreal, where he broke into the first team before rejoining his former club in 2018.
A stellar season at the Metropolitano then persuaded Pep Guardiola’s City to pay his release clause a year later.
In the Premier League, Rodri has developed into one of the world’s best midfielders, winning the Ballon d’Or after helping Spain win Euro 2024, a year after City won the Treble.
– Real Madrid have a gaping, Rodri-sized hole in their midfield
“I’ve got a year left on my contract [at City] and at some point we’ll have to sit down and talk,” Rodri told Onda Cero. “I’d like to return [to LaLiga], obviously.”
Madrid opted not to sign a central midfielder last summer — instead bringing in defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras, and winger Franco Mastantuono – but ESPN has reported that the club are considering a midfield signing ahead of 2026-27.
In recent weeks, youngster Thiago Pitarch, 18, has been brought into the team by coach Álvaro Arbeloa, playing alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde and Arda Güler.
