José Mourinho has revealed that Real Madrid held talks with Rodri and tabled a formal offer for the Spanish midfielder before he ultimately completed a move to Barcelona, suggesting the World Cup winner's own uncertainty played a part in the deal collapsing.
Rodri was unveiled at Barcelona following a €75m (£65.4m) transfer from Manchester City, describing the Catalan club as "always my first choice." The move reunites him with eight teammates from Spain's World Cup-winning squad. Speaking on the same day, Mourinho addressed the situation in an interview with El Chiringuito, insisting he had no regrets over how things unfolded.
"I spoke to him a couple of times and Real Madrid made him a very good offer," Mourinho said. "Without negotiating with City, the club were in contact with Rodri and made him an important offer. Rodrigo had doubts, he doubted. And his doubts created doubts in me. He is an extraordinary player and he behaved in the right way with us. I have nothing bad to say. But Real Madrid are so big that you can't have players who have to think twice. You get in touch with a player and the player says: 'When do I go?' That's how it works."
According to Mourinho, Rodri had fielded three offers after the World Cup — from Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He reportedly dismissed the PSG option early on, keen to return to Spanish football, before eventually settling on a switch to Barcelona rather than Madrid.
Asked whether losing out on Rodri to their fiercest rivals represented a symbolic win for Barcelona, Mourinho brushed aside the suggestion. "Victories are on the pitch, trophies," he said, downplaying any notion that the transfer saga carried wider significance beyond the pitch.
The episode leaves a notable gap in Real Madrid's midfield, an area of the squad that has been repeatedly identified as a weakness after the club failed to lift a major trophy in the past two seasons. Despite this, Mourinho — starting his second spell in charge at the Santiago Bernabéu — showed no urgency to bring in a replacement for the defensive midfielder role Rodri would have filled.
"I am not saying that there will not be any more signings because the market is still open, but if you ask me directly whether the squad is complete, for me yes it is," the 63-year-old manager said. "It's complete, closed. I like [my squad] a lot."
Mourinho went further, expressing confidence in his current options and his own coaching methods to develop players already at the club. "I don't miss Rodrigo," he said. "We have solutions, we have quality, we have players who maybe you look at and you judge them on what they have done but I like to think that I have the ability to improve players. A player that is one thing today can be a different player tomorrow."
Rodri, meanwhile, begins a new chapter at Camp Nou as one of the most high-profile arrivals of the transfer window, joining a Barcelona squad already stocked with several of his international teammates. His departure from Manchester City closes a significant chapter for the reigning Premier League champions, while Real Madrid now face the challenge of navigating the rest of the season without the midfield reinforcement many believed they needed.
Whether Real Madrid pursue an alternative before the market closes remains to be seen, but for now Mourinho has made clear he considers his squad ready to compete without addressing that particular position.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.