Rodri is facing one of the most important decisions in his career as his future at Manchester City becomes increasingly unpredictable.
The Spanish midfielder only has one year left on his contract with the Etihad club and has not yet reached an extension agreement, in the context that both Real Madrid and Barcelona are said to want to bring him back to La Liga.
According to many sources, Real Madrid has long been closely monitoring Rodri, while Barcelona also unexpectedly joined the race to sign the 30-year-old midfielder. Although Barca denies the rumors, the fact that both Spanish "giants" are linked with Rodri shows the special attraction of this player in the transfer market.
Rodri has just gone through a difficult time when he continuously had knee and hamstring problems. However, he has returned strongly at the 2026 World Cup, making a great contribution to helping the Spanish national team win the championship and be voted the Player of the Tournament. After the tournament, this midfielder continued to have back surgery and has not yet joined Man City in the pre-season tour in Asia.
Previously, Rodri had affirmed that he would only make a decision about his future after the World Cup. When returning to training, he will have to choose between extending his contract with Man City, staying until the end of his contract and leaving for free next year, or moving back to Spain this summer.
On Man City's side, this team still considers Rodri an irreplaceable factor. The board of directors expects him to continue to stick and only consider selling him if they receive a very large transfer fee.
If he moves to Barcelona, Rodri will reunite with many teammates in the Spanish national team such as Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsi and Ferran Torres. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is also an attractive destination when Bernardo Silva just arrived at Bernabeu and Jose Mourinho returned to lead the Royal team.
However, wearing the shirt of one of the two giants of Spanish football may also put Rodri under a lot of pressure. He grew up from Atletico Madrid and once admitted that it is very difficult to refuse invitations from top world teams, so any choice will create much debate.
If Rodri leaves Etihad, it will be a huge loss for The Citizens. Since joining the team in 2019, he has won many major titles, including four Premier League titles, one Champions League and two FA Cups, and is considered the best central midfielder in the world.
In case of losing Rodri, coach Enzo Maresca will have to rely on names like Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez or Tijjani Reijnders to fill the gap in midfield.
Besides, the record contract Elliot Anderson is expected to play an important role, while Lille's young talent Ayyoub Bouaddi is still on the transfer target list. However, replacing Rodri's influence will be a not-so-simple task for the Etihad home team.
