Manchester City are eyeing a Barcelona teenager with a €500million release clause as Fabrizio Romano has revealed Real Madrid are now taking concrete steps to land Rodri.
Spanish midfielder Rodri has long been on the radar of Real. It has seemed for years that they want him to return to his home nation to play with them while he still has miles in his legs.
TEAMtalk is aware that after spending seven years away from Spain with City, the Ballon d’Or-winning superstar is ready to go home, specifically with Real.
Transfer insider Romano has revealed that for the first time, Real have approached the English club in regards to the transfer.History
With Florentino Perez giving the deal the go-ahead, talks have started, and the Spanish side are willing to pay €50million (£42.8m), with the midfielder only under contract for another year.
In response, City have eyes on a star midfielder to replace Rodri. Caught Offside reports their search for a long-term successor has led them to Barcelona teenager Marc Bernal.
The Spaniard is protected by a €500million (£428m) release clause, and therefore it seems City might struggle to secure an immediate deal, particularly amid the suggestion that Barcelona aren’t looking to open talks at the moment.
Bernal could prove an alternative to the club’s top target in Ayyoub Bouaddi, with competition tough for the €100m-rated Lille sensation.
Per our exclusive update last week, there was optimism that City could land the 18-year-old, who starred for Morocco at the World Cup.
Want more breaking news and transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.
City will let Rodri leave
Rodri has just had minor back surgery which will keep him out for a short period.
And that means there’s a genuine chance that he’s never seen in a City shirt again, with TEAMtalk aware the club are open to the sale of the World Cup holder.
If the right agreement can be reached, sources state they won’t stand in Rodri’s way.
He has no desire to run down his contract and leave for nothing, and would sooner move straight away – both for his own desires and due to the fact he feels City deserve to be paid for the transfer.
That has seen Real open direct talks with the Manchester outfit.
There were previously fears that Rodri might not get back to his best, but his performances in Spain’s triumphant World Cup campaign, in which he won the Golden Ball, have allayed those fears.
Real are therefore happy to push for the midfielder, whose future might well be with them.
