RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 6 sourcesJose Mourinho furious with Real Madrid handling of failed Rodri pursuit
Real Madrid had been heavy favourites to sign Rodri this summer, but now, the Manchester City midfielder is poised to join Barcelona . Despite agreeing personal terms with the 30-year-old, a club-to-club deal was never done, and that has allowed their biggest rivals to swoop in, much to the disbelief and fury of Madridistas across the world.
It is not only the Real Madrid fanbase that is angry at the club’s failed pursuit of Rodri. As per Sergio Valentin , head coach Jose Mourinho is very unhappy at the prospect of not having the 2026 World Cup Golden Ball winner in his squad for the upcoming season, having firmly believed that this would be the case.
Mourinho told Real Madrid that he needed a new midfielder
According to Valentin, Mourinho did not ask Real Madrid to sign Rodri, but after the club ruled out a number of players that he had presented to them, he got on the board with the move. The Portuguese made it very clear that he wanted a star-studded midfielder in his squad for the 2026-27 season and beyond, which is why he was satisfied with the Rodri push.
But with Real Madrid now having little to no chance of signing Rodri, they are back to square one in their pursuit of a new midfielder. Understandably, Mourinho is not happy about this, having made it very clear that he was not satisfied with the current options at his disposal.
Ever since Toni Kroos left, it has been clear that Real Madrid are missing something in midfield. Rodri was seen as the ideal player to fill the void left by the legendary German, but it appears that he will not be heading to the Bernabeu – and to make matters worse, he looks set to strengthen Barcelona in their bid to make it three years in a row without a La Liga title for Los Blancos.
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