Real Madrid will be seething after seeing bitter rivals Barcelona hijack their bid to sign Rodri from Manchester City.<\/p>\n
Madrid had made their interest in the City midfielder known, and pushed hard to bring Spain’s World Cup-winning captain to the Bernabeu.<\/p>\n
According to one Spanish radio station, Madrid made Rodri an offer he couldn’t refuse. He ultimately did, instead choosing to join Spanish champions Barcelona on a four-year contract<\/a> in a reported deal worth \u00a365 million to Man City.<\/p>\n With Rodri’s rejection, Real Madrid<\/a> may now turn their attention to other midfield options to bolster Jose Mourinho’s squad.<\/p>\n Enzo Fernandez<\/p>\n Madrid face stiff competition for Fernandez’s signature, as the Argentina midfielder is a wanted man. <\/p>\n City are close to securing Ayyoub Bouaddi’s transfer from Lille for a reported fee of \u00a385 million, but with Tijjani Rijnders also expected to depart<\/a>, they are keen to add at least one more midfielder to their squad. <\/p>\n Chelsea suffered a disappointing 2024\/25 season and missed out on European qualification. Madrid said at the start of July that they had “no intention” of signing Fernandez, but that was before missing out on Rodri. <\/p>\n Fernandez was handed an internal two-game suspension by Chelsea in April after the former Benfica player said he did not know if he would remain at Chelsea this season and that he would “love” to live in Madrid.<\/p>\n Chelsea value their player at around \u00a3120 million, but new coach Xabi Alonso is a known admirer of the 25-year-old and sees him as a key part of his rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n Martin Zubimendi<\/p>\n The 27-year-old Spain midfielder was one of Arsenal\u2019s marquee signings last summer when the Gunners pushed through a \u20ac65 million deal to bring him in from La Liga side Real Sociedad.<\/p>\n Zubimendi played a key role in Arsenal’s 2025\/26 campaign, but lost his place in the side during the run-in as the club clinched a first Premier League title in more than 20 years and reached the Uefa Champions League final.<\/p>\n Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has strengthened his midfield over the summer, signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United, pushing Zubimendi even further down the pecking order.<\/p>\n Zubimendi started on the bench as Arsenal beat Man City to clinch the Community Shield<\/a> on Sunday, coming on as a second-half substitute.<\/p>\n He was also part of Spain’s squad as they clinched a second World Cup title in North America this summer, coming on as a substitute in the final against Argentina.<\/p>\n