Manchester City are ready to make Rodri their second-highest earner behind Erling Haaland, a report has revealed, as they look to fend off longstanding transfer interest from Real Madrid.
Real Madrid want a new ball-playing midfielder to fill the void left behind by the departures of Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić and, despite looking at the likes of Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, are understood to have settled on Rodri as their dream target.
With two years left on his current contract, Rodri is seen by Madrid officials as a potential target for the summer of 2026, when his expiring deal could see City accept a cut-price offer. According to Fabrizio Romano, Pep Guardiola’s side are adamant that will not happen.
Not only are City determined not to sell Rodri, but the Premier League giants are readying the offer of a new contract for the 29-year-old.
City are prepared to make Rodri their second-highest earner, behind only striker Erling Haaland, who started 2025 by signing a new nine-and-a-half-year contract with a weekly salary that has been reported to be as high as £525,000 ($698,000).
Rodri must now decide whether to extend his stay with City and sign a contract which would effectively end his chances of joining Madrid while he is still in his prime.
In November 2024, Rodri confessed to Cadena SER that he was “honoured” to be linked with Madrid, describing Los Blancos as “the best and most successful club in history”. He did, however, stress his happiness with City and insisted he could retire in the Premier League.
While Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or after a stellar season which ended with another Premier League title, his importance to City was perhaps made clearest last season. A serious knee injury in just the fifth week of the campaign derailed City’s 2024–25 and sparked a slump to record lows for Guardiola’s side.
He made his return at the end of the season and sparked immediate improvement at the Club World Cup, and City are now working to make sure they can rely on Rodri for the foreseeable future.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City ‘Plot Huge Response’ to Real Madrid’s Rodri Transfer Interest.