Rodri Is the Galactico Real Madrid Desperately Need to Sign This Summer

The Spain midfielder has dominated at the World Cup in a position of weakness for Madrid.

There is no better midfielder in world football. | Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images

During his re-election campaign Florentino Pérez made a point of promising to keep up his record of bringing the world’s best players to Real Madrid.

Giant banners were erected in the city showcasing the biggest signings of Pérez’s tenure from Luís Figo to Kylian Mbappé, followed by the words “to be continued.”

Pérez also teased a €150 million ($170 million) bid for an unnamed “Galáctico” in the final throes of vote-winning prior to the polling.

Since defeating his challenger Enrique Riquelme, the 79-year-old president made a Machiavellian move for Julián Alvarez and has flirted with Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.

Erling Haaland, too, remains a white whale for Pérez, who collects superstar players like other rich men his age might watches or cars. Asked if Madrid really needed another high-profile forward with Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and more already vying for places, he replied “in Madrid, you can always have more.”

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Madrid’s Midfield Issue

Aurélien Tchouaméni is Madrid’s only defensive midfielder. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

While the president’s obsession has always been with flashy attackers, none of the names mentioned address Madrid’s most pressing need: midfield.

The roster still boasts a gaping hole left by the exits of club legends Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić in the last two years, while Aurelién Tchouaméni is the only specialist defensive midfielder in the first team. On top of that, it’s fair to say the Frenchman has not had his finest year domestically or internationally, while a locker-room rift became public after his Valdebebas spat with Federico Valverde ended with the Uruguayan in hospital back in May. The 26-year-old is also very much not a creator from deep in the way Kroos and Modrić were.

New manager José Mourinho has been brought in to restore order and discipline. A new backline has been recruited, with Marc Cucurella a serious upgrade on Madrid’s other left back options, while Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries add depth, at least.

However, the midfield, or lack of it, remains the elephant in the room.

Ironically, it was Pérez’s challenger, Riquelme, who made Rodri the centerpiece of his campaigning, with the 37-year-old green energy magnate insisting he would sign the Manchester City star (along with Haaland) if elected.

For all the faults with Riquelme’s campaign, naming Rodri as the key target wasn’t one of them. It’s hard to think of a better fit to fix Madrid’s midfield and take the club to the next level.

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Rodri Lights Up World Cup

655 - Rodri has completed 655 passes at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the most by a player in a single edition on record since 1966.

Artist. pic.twitter.com/tYDtdHA923

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2026

The 30-year-old has been the beating heart, or “the computer” as manager Luis de la Fuente puts it, of a Spain team set to play only its second ever World Cup final this weekend.

He ranks top of FIFA’s own Defensive Power Rankings, while no player on record has ever completed more passes at a World Cup (currently 694).

During the semifinal victory over France, the Manchester City star was imperious in controlling possession, dictating play and negating the threat of superstar attackers like Olise and Mbappé as Spain ran out the comfortable 2–0 winner. In the 90 minutes in Texas, no player ran more than Rodri, who covered 12.63km (7.8 miles).

The notion of what Madrid are missing was made more stark as Tchouaméni, admittedly far from fully fit, floundered on the opposite side.

Lionel Messi might be the favorite to secure the Golden Ball trophy for the tournament’s best player, but there’s little doubt that if Spain win the final on Sunday, it will be Rodri who was the MVP in La Roja’s success.

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Pérez-Rodri Relationship Makes Transfer Tricky

Florentino Pérez seems unwilling to consider Rodri. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

Speaking ahead of the World Cup’s start, Rodri was vague about his club future, telling reporters: “I’m focused on being a leader for the national team. That’s my path. I understand the noise, but I’m not going to dedicate my time to that. We’ll see after the World Cup.”

With just one year left on his contract and Pep Guardiola’s exit marking the end of an era at Manchester City, the time may finally be right for Rodri to consider moving on to a new challenge after seven seasons in the Premier League.

Back in 2024, the Madrid-born star teased the possibility of a switch to the Bernabéu, telling Cadena SER: “When Real Madrid call you, the best club in history, the most successful, everything that means ... Obviously, it’s an honour and you always have to pay attention, of course.”

So, why doesn’t Pérez go all out for the ideal signing? There are seemingly a few obstacles for the president to overcome, with widespread reports claiming there is little interest from Madrid’s side currently.

As a defensive midfielder, Rodri is not the typical big-name signing Pérez likes. Since signing Kroos ahead of the 2014–15 campaign, he has only paid real money for three non-attacking midfielders (Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos), preferring to save the cash for other areas.

It feels almost childish to say, but the spotlight-shunning, Rodri—serial winner and perfect team player that he is—may simply not be enough of a Galáctico for Pérez.

There is also the petty business with the 2024 Ballon d’Or, when Pérez led a boycott of football’s biggest individual award ceremony after Rodri was named the winner ahead of Vinícius Jr.

There are other probable factors, complicating a move. Rodri is now over 30 and suffered an ACL tear as recently as 2024. Any investment Madrid make would be money they would almost certainly not recoup down the line, while there could be a fear that he is not a long-term solution.

Perhaps the biggest road block though is simply that Rodri was Riquelme’s man, and Pérez may be reluctant to be seen to endorse a flagship policy of the man who dared challenge him.

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