Real Madrid have received personal approval from Rodri to pursue a transfer, with Spanish journalist Matteo Moretto reporting that the midfielder is open to the move and that contractual terms are unlikely to pose a significant obstacle.
The harder half of this deal, persuading Manchester City to sell, has not even started.
Rodri is entering the final year of his contract at the Etihad, with his current deal running until June 2027. That timeline is everything here.
City remain wealthy enough to reject offers and could prefer keeping him for one final season, but they must either convince him to extend his stay or risk losing him for nothing in 2027.
What Moretto’s reporting establishes is that Rodri may not be willing to wait around for that conversation to be resolved in City’s favour.
What Matteo Moretto Actually Reported On Rodri
According to Moretto, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has become considerably more open to completing the transfer. Perez had previously been cool on the idea, reportedly because of concerns over Rodri’s age and injury history, but Spain’s World Cup triumph, in which Rodri played a central role, appears to have changed the conversation.
Moretto claims Madrid are now close to reaching an understanding with Rodri over personal terms, and that the player’s side has given the Spanish club encouragement.
That is not the same as a bid being on the table, and Madrid will need to avoid assuming the player’s approval alone guarantees success. But it does mean that if City eventually soften their position, the personal terms stage of this transfer is unlikely to be what collapses the move.
One distinction the primary reporting makes clearly is that no negotiations are currently taking place between Real Madrid and Manchester City. The player’s openness to a move gives Madrid leverage and confidence, but it does not force City’s hand on its own.
Manchester City’s Position On Rodri Under Enzo Maresca
Reports elsewhere suggest City are preparing to hold decisive talks with Rodri about his future, with new manager Enzo Maresca determined to keep him as the structural foundation of his rebuild after replacing Pep Guardiola this summer.
That framing tells you something: City are not treating this as a formality. They are treating it as a fight worth having.
If Rodri declines to extend, City face the same uncomfortable arithmetic that has reshaped several previous transfer sagas involving players entering the final year of a contract, take a fee now, possibly at a discount, or risk losing him for nothing in twelve months.
The wider context matters too. Rodri’s rehabilitation and return to the form that made him Spain’s World Cup talisman will have been watched closely by both clubs.
Perez’s earlier hesitance was partly rooted in that injury record, and his apparent change of heart suggests Madrid believe Rodri is now physically past the risk.
Why Rodri Fits Real Madrid’s Midfield Rebuild
That is the specific gap Rodri would fill, and it is why his profile reads as a tactical fit rather than just a statement signing. Madrid have lacked a true holding presence in front of the back four since their previous midfield generation moved on, and Rodri’s positional discipline addresses that directly.
It is also worth noting that other clubs retain a passing interest in players of Rodri’s profile at the top end of the market, which complicates any assumption that Madrid can simply wait City out without a rival bidder entering the picture.
The Verdict
This story has real substance behind it. A credible journalist naming a player’s approval is not transfer noise, it is the first structural piece of a deal falling into place. But City’s position remains the single biggest obstacle, and right now that conversation has not even begun.
