Fabrizio Romano shared updates on his video regarding Real Madrid’s pursuit of Rodri. According to Romano, Manchester City decided last week to put negotiations with Real Madrid on hold, as they believe Barcelona could enter the battle to sign Rodri.
Romano stated in the video:
Real Madrid are holding official negotiations with Manchester City between the two clubs, while also maintaining communication with the player’s agent. Rodri himself is eager for the transfer, so Real Madrid are indeed pushing forward with this deal. But why have
Real Madrid and Manchester City still failed to reach an agreement? Why is the transfer not finalised yet, and we have not reached the point of "Here we go" or a completed deal?
The reason is that Manchester City made the decision last week to delay negotiations and refrain from finalising terms with Real Madrid shortly after official talks opened between the sides on Tuesday or Wednesday. They want to wait and see if more clubs join the pursuit of Rodri, and also learn the player’s stance to find out whether other teams will get involved.
This is exactly what I have been reporting all along: Manchester City feel Barcelona may also hold interest in Rodri. That explains the rumours linking Rodri to Barcelona emerging over the past 24 to 48 hours, because City believe Barcelona could enter the competition. Frenkie de Jong’s injury may open the door for such a possibility, which is why Manchester City think Barcelona might join the race.
It will now fall to Rodri to decide whether Barcelona also stand a chance of signing him, or if he sticks to his stance of only wanting a move to Real Madrid. Obviously, Rodri is the key figure in this situation. Still, the core reason Manchester City refused to lock in an agreement with Real Madrid immediately is their belief that more clubs could enter the transfer battle. For now, we can only wait and see how things unfold. Nevertheless, it must not be forgotten that Rodri has repeatedly stated Real Madrid is his preferred destination. Therefore, only Rodri himself can change this situation, or choose to push through a transfer to Real Madrid.
