Real Madrid are allegedly prepared to break the bank with a gargantuan £130m offer for Manchester City's Rodri in 2026, and Manchester United could benefit.
Los Blancos returned to the top of the La Liga table with a 3-1 success over Villarreal on Saturday, where Vinicius Junior bagged a brace and Kylian Mbappe set a new personal goalscoring record.
However, Xabi Alonso's side will slip back down the rankings if reigning champions Barcelona win their game in hand against Sevilla on Sunday afternoon.
The capital giants failed to bolster their midfield ranks in the summer transfer window, but a new engine-room enforcer is expected to be high on their priority list for the coming windows amid uncertainty surrounding the futures of some of their current options.
According to the Daily Star, Real Madrid are ready to make a mammoth £130m offer to tempt Rodri away from the Etihad Stadium, as they try to capitalise on a 'nagging fear' of Manchester City's.
Real Madrid planning audacious £130m Rodri transfer bid?
Manchester City's Rodri pictured on September 18, 2025
The Spain international and 2024 Ballon d'Or winner is out of contract at the end of next season, and chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak is determined to keep him on the books.
However, Citizens chiefs are supposedly fearful that Rodri could be seduced by the Real Madrid project under Alonso, especially if Pep Guardiola decides to leave Man City in the near future too.
A £130m deal for Rodri would see the 29-year-old become Real Madrid's most expensive signing of all time, surpassing the £110.6m that Los Blancos spent on Jude Bellingham in the summer of 2023.
The midfielder's Atletico Madrid allegiances may represent a stumbling block in Real's transfer pursuit, but Alonso is said to be desperate to have a player of Rodri's profile in his ranks at the earliest opportunity.
Alonso's desire for the Spaniard's services comes in spite of his struggles for fitness since last year's ACL injury, as he has completed the full 90 minutes in just two matches so far this season.
How Man United could benefit from Rodri Real Madrid move
Federico Valverde for Real Madrid on July 1, 2025
Alonso is not blessed with a surfeit of quality options at the heart of the Real midfield, where only Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Dani Ceballos can operate while Bellingham functions in a more advanced role.
Ceballos is only a bit-part player at the Bernabeu, though, while the versatile Valverde's future is being called into question amidsupposed interest from Man United.
Should Real Madrid pull off a sensational deal for Rodri, the door could be open for Valverde to make the move to Man United, although whether he would join without Champions League football is another question entirely.
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