{"id":1163875,"date":"2026-02-23T08:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/?p=1163875"},"modified":"2026-02-23T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T13:35:00","slug":"real-madrid-and-barcelona-set-sights-on-manchester-citys-rodri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/real-madrid-and-barcelona-set-sights-on-manchester-citys-rodri\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid and Barcelona set sights on Manchester City\u2019s Rodri"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid and Barcelona set sights on Manchester City\u2019s Rodri<\/p>\n<p>Real Madrid and Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City star Rodri.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/sportbild.bild.de\/fussball\/internationaler-fussball\/real-und-barca-wollen-city-star-guardiola-kaempft-um-rodri-6999ce6da11b146032890403\">German outlet Bild<\/a>, the two La Liga giants have the 29-year-old at the top of their wish list and could launch a bid in the summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rodri has been a key player for the Citizens since joining the club in 2019 from Atletico Madrid.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the midfielder\u2019s contract will expire in June 2027, sparking speculation regarding his future in Manchester.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>City manager Pep Guardiola is desperate for Rodri to extend his stay at the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/transfer\/news\/12691\/12476234\/transfer-centre-live-football-transfer-news-updates-and-rumours?postid=11110478#liveblog-body\">He said in a recent press conference<\/a>: \u201cI would love desperately [for Rodri to stay]. Rodri is Rodri. As much age as he has, more wiser, more understanding of the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are players that are defined on the big stages, in the difficulties, and Rodri\u2019s one of them, like Bernie [Bernardo Silva], like Ruben [Dias], like many of them that I had in the past. You cannot achieve what we achieved if you don\u2019t have huge personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rodri has been a consistent performer for City over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He has made 287 appearances across all competitions, with 27 goals and 32 assists to his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But injuries have reduced his playing time for City in recent seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rodri made only a single <a href=\"https:\/\/footballtoday.com\/premier-league-table\/\">Premier League<\/a> start last term due to a cruciate ligament injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He has also missed a chunk of this season with a hamstring issue, starting only 11 top-flight matches so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rodri is widely regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He is highly rated for his passing skills, composure and playmaking ability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He is physically strong, which helps him win tackles and aerial duels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>City have struggled in Rodri\u2019s absence, as they went trophyless last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Given his importance in the team, the Premier League giants will likely renew his contract soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/real-madrid-barcelona-set-sights-083500364.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/real-madrid-barcelona-set-sights-083500364.html<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid and Barcelona set sights on Manchester City\u2019s Rodri Real Madrid and Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City star Rodri.\u00a0 According to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1163876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1163875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1163875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1163875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1163875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1163875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}