Six days earlier, Rodri had lifted the World Cup as Spain's captain. On Monday, he goes under the knife.
The State of Play — What Is Actually Confirmed
Very little, and that is the point. No club-to-club negotiation has taken place. No bid has been submitted. City sources have told Spanish outlet AS they have received no approach and feel entirely relaxed, pointing to a contract that runs to 30 June 2027.
What is confirmed is the surgery. Speaking at his first press conference since replacing Pep Guardiola, Enzo Maresca addressed both the operation and the speculation swirling around it.
"I think every manager wants to have Rodri because he is a top player. But now, surgery on Monday. He needs a holiday, he needs to rest and recover and then he will be back with us."
Maresca was equally unbothered by the noise. "We have to say that around big players there are always speculation. I'm not worried about that, it's normal. They won the World Cup and he was one of the best players."
The reported fee varies wildly depending on which side of the Channel you read. L'Équipe put City's valuation at €100m. AS suggests City would listen at closer to €60m (£51m). Other Spanish reporting has floated a "reasonable" £50m. That gap tells you how little has actually been negotiated.
Two things are genuinely established. Rodri has declined a new contract at the Etihad despite City having a lucrative offer on the table for some time. And, according to Ben Jacobs, he has told City officials he wants to join Real Madrid for sporting and family reasons.
Who Is Rodri?
Rodrigo Hernández Cascante grew up at Rayo Majadahonda before joining Atlético Madrid's academy in 2007. Atlético released him in 2013. He rebuilt at Villarreal, making his senior debut in the Copa del Rey against Huesca in December 2015 while living in university accommodation and completing a business administration degree at Jaume I University in Castellón.
Atlético bought him back for €20m in 2018. A year later City triggered his €70m release clause — then a club record fee for Manchester City.
Seven years on, the return has been extraordinary:
- 13 major trophies at City, including four Premier League titles, the 2023 Champions League, two FA Cups and three League Cups
- Roughly 300 appearances, starting 265 of them
- Scorer of the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final against Inter
- 2024 Ballon d'Or winner — the first in City's history
- 70 caps for Spain, with Euro 2024, the 2023 Nations League and now the World Cup
The last two seasons complicate that CV. He ruptured his ACL against Arsenal in September 2024 in his third league appearance of the campaign and did not return until May 2025. City went trophyless that year for the first time since 2016-17. Last season