Manchester City open to Rodri sale to Real Madrid on crucial recruitment condition

Manchester City open to Rodri sale to Real Madrid on crucial recruitment condition Man City prefer to keep Rodri even if he fails to sign a new contract extension this summer The arrival of Ayyoub Bouaddi or another midfielder could allow for a sale to be sanctioned City value Rodri at “significantly more” than the reported numbers of €50M being linked to Real Madrid Manchester City’s preference is to retain Rodri this summer even without a contract extension, but the completion of Ayyoub Bouaddi’s signing could open the door to a departure, as per a new report. The 30-year-old has been the subject of the most sustained transfer speculation of the summer, with Real Madrid understood to have reached a personal agreement with the midfielder and Rodri having relayed his desire to join the Spanish club to those close to him – a situation that has brought a growing sense of inevitability to a story that Manchester City’s hierarchy have consistently sought to resist. The new report clarifies City’s internal stance with considerable precision, separating the club’s genuine preference to keep their World Cup Golden Ball winner from the conditions under which they would ultimately agree to let him leave. Manchester City agree five-year contract terms with Ayyoub Bouaddi as Lille negotiations enter final stages City’s pursuit of Bouaddi has been one of the parallel storylines running alongside the Rodri saga all summer, with the Morocco international widely understood to be the player identified as the long-term heir in the defensive midfield position should Rodri’s departure eventually be sanctioned. The relationship between the two stories – Rodri’s exit and Bouaddi’s arrival – has never been made more explicit than in Jacobs’s framing, which effectively presents them as conditional on one another rather than as separate summer projects being handled in isolation. Jacobs: City’s Rodri valuation “significantly more” than reported €50M as gap with Real Madrid emerges According to Ben Jacobs , Manchester City’s current preference is to hold onto Rodri even if he does not sign a new contract, with the club unwilling to sanction a sale on terms they consider inadequate regardless of the time remaining on his deal. The arrival of Bouaddi or another midfielder would, however, change that calculation – providing City with the cover in the position that would make a Rodri sale manageable rather than damaging to Enzo Maresca’s squad depth ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. Crucially, Jacobs also addresses the question of price directly, confirming that City value Rodri at “significantly more” than the reported figures of €50 million that have been circulating in connection with Real Madrid’s pursuit of the midfielder – a valuation that, when translated into sterling, already represents a significant premium on what Madrid appear prepared to pay. Reports from Spain have placed City’s asking price at around €80 million, with Real Madrid understood to have capped their own offer at €60 million, leaving a gap between the two positions that neither side has yet moved decisively to bridge despite the player’s personal preference being known to both clubs. Real Madrid make first contact with Manchester City over Rodri transfer What does Jacobs’s update mean for Man City and the Rodri situation? The picture Jacobs paints is of a club in a more stable and confident negotiating position than some of the surrounding coverage has implied – one that does not feel urgency to sell, is not being dictated to by contract leverage, and is prepared to let Rodri see out the remaining year of his deal rather than accept a fee it considers inadequate. Real Madrid’s confidence in completing the deal has been reported as high, and the player’s own desire to leave the Etihad Stadium is not in meaningful doubt – but those factors count for very little if City stand firm on a valuation that Madrid are currently unwilling or unable to meet. The Bouaddi variable is the most actionable element of the story from director of football Hugo Viana ‘s perspective. Concluding the Lille deal – at a fee of around £85 million, per previous reports – would resolve the midfield depth concern that makes a Rodri sale untenable in the current squad configuration, and would give City the freedom to negotiate from a position of genuine strength rather than necessity. Whether Bouaddi’s arrival comes before or after a decision on Rodri, or whether the two deals ultimately move in parallel, is set to be one of the most consequential sequencing questions of the summer window’s final weeks at the Etihad Stadium.