Rodri Hernandez refuses to rule out blockbuster Real Madrid move

Real Madrid are in the market for a new midfielder, and they have identified Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez as their primary target. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, who previously played for Atletico Madrid, has been admired for a long time by officials at the Santiago Bernabeu, and this could be put into action – although it’s unlikely to happen this summer.

Real Madrid have failed to replace Toni Kroos since his retirement 12 months ago, and that cost them throughout last season. As such, club bosses would ideally like to get this done before the end of the summer, although they would be up against it – especially in regards to Rodri, who recently suffered an injury setback, which means that he will not return to action until September.

Nevertheless, it was unlikely that Real Madrid would make a move this summer anyway, despite reports that they would be willing to spend €115m on Rodri. 2026 would be the ideal time to strike, although that would only happen if the 29-year-old did not pen a new contract with Man City before then.

The Premier League side have proposed a bumper new contract for their star midfielder, but according to Diario AS, he has not yet made a decision on where his future lies long-term. Because of this, there are growing concerns among Man City officials, who would have seen what happened when Real Madrid managed to convince Trent Alexander-Arnold not to extend with Liverpool.

There is no doubt that Rodri would be an outstanding addition for Real Madrid, despite the fact that he will be 30 next summer. However, there will be some doubts about whether he can return to his pre-ACL injury levels, given that he was not at his best during the 2025 Club World Cup.

It remains to be seen whether Rodri does end up at the Bernabeu, but at this stage, there does appear to be growing optimism that this can happen.