Real Madrid approached World Cup winner Rodri with an offer so good, Spanish radio claim it was impossible to refuse. And Rodri, ever the magician, did the impossible again: he refused it.
The report says that Madrid started talking to Rodri just a few days after he won the World Cup with Spain, and that the offer was “really, really good.” In fact, they specifically said the offer was “irrechazable” – meaning irresistible or too good to refuse.
The news from the Madrid media was that the capital club
had “education, manners, and dignity” in their approach towards the Manchester City star. Madrid were “serious” and put “everything on the table” to try to sign Rodri.
One might wonder if this is a bit of damage control after fans revolted once news broke that the midfielder was actually going to join Barcelona after multiple reports said he was surely going to join Real. This came days after Madrid media had reported Rodri was due to reject Barça as he “only wanted” Madrid… or so they claimed, anyway.
There were rumors before that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez had to be convinced that signing Rodri was the way forward. For various reasons, it was claimed Pérez resisted the idea initially, before deciding he did in fact want Spain’s World Cup hero to wear white after his country won the World Cup with zero Real Madrid players in the squad. (Marc Cucurella signed for Real Madrid after the the tournament had already started.)
“From the president, to the general director, to the staff, everyone worked so that Rodri could play for Real Madrid,” the report says. “But Rodri has taken the decision to choose another offer. And today, he communicated that to Real Madrid.”
The report went on to stress that the player himself was thankful towards Madrid for how they handled the negotiation, but that he was taking a different option.
Still, the story isn’t over yet. While Barcelona have reportedly agreed on personal terms with the player, no deal has been agreed yet with Manchester City. Until that happens, no signing can occur.
