Rodri: you can't denounce the best clubs in the world like Real Madrid

The Manchester City footballer and Spanish national team player analyze his injury recovery, the World Cup, and his future at press conference before the Friendly against Serbia.

It was with Luis de la Fuente that he achieved his first two international titles and led him to become the second Spanish player to win the Ballon d'Or. A few months before the World Cup, Rodri is recovering from a serious ligament injury that kept him out of the pitch last season, although in recent months he seems to be returning to his best level.

"If I had to choose a moment when it happened, I might have chosen the one when it happened (...) It was good for rest, to slow down... Mentally, there was exhaustion. It has allowed me to recharge and come back with tremendous enthusiasm (...) This season I don't have as much minutes load and I arrive much fresher," he explains on Radioestadio Noche.

This season, in addition, his name is being mentioned as a possible signing for Real Madrid for next summer, and the midfielder does not hide the fact that he would like to play in LaLiga, although at the moment he ensures that he is focused on recovering his best level again.

"I have a year left on my contract, there will be a point where we'll have to sit down and talk and dialogue," he explains, while not ruling out playing for the Whites one day despite his past at Atlético. "You can't renounce the best clubs in the world," he says.

His name has also been linked in recent years to Real Madrid due to the multiple encounters he has had with them in the Champions League and because he was the one who won the Ballon d'Or in 2024 ahead of Vinicius. "They wanted to face us, and I have a deep admiration for Vinicius the player," Rodri ensures.

His injury recovery

The last few months of Rodri's career have been marked by the recovery of his knee injury. He returned last month of June to play the Club World Cup with Manchester City, but as the months passed, he decided to stop for a few weeks to improve his recovery and arrive better at the decisive stage of the season.

"I decided to take my time, stop, and prepare well knowing that the decisive part of the season would be from January onwards. For now, it's going well (...) I feel like I'm back to being the Rodri they want," he explains.

Through a very similar process, another of the team's most important players, the Madridist Dani Carvajal, has also passed, who has not been called up for this break. "I'm convinced that he has this final stretch where he has to push and play matches. I hope he's with us, he's a key piece," he says about his teammate in Spain.

Competition and the World Cup

Spain will arrive at the World Cup this summer as one of the great favorites for the title. "We're going to win," assures a Rodri who gushes in praise of Luis de la Fuente, a coach who has brought Spain back to being among the best in the world.

"Since he arrived, we had a very clear mission: live every game as if it were a final. We have been demonstrating our potential little by little. The key is to have a unit in continuous improvement, in continuous aspiration (…) I am convinced that Spain will be there," he says.