Manchester City have been working on new contracts for some of their key stars over the summer.
The Premier League giants’ main focus ahead of the 25/26 season was to bring in new faces as Pep Guardiola wanted four to five players added to his squad.
Outgoings have also been an area of focus for the Manchester club as the Spanish coach made it clear towards the end of the season that he does not want to work with a big group of players, a situation Guardiola is still not happy about.
While this has been going on, contracts have been worked on in the background, and a new report states that a key star City are planning on handing a new bumper deal to is currently in no rush to agree to new terms.
Rodri in action for Manchester City.
Photo by Luciano Bisbal/Getty Images
Rodri is in no rush to sign a new Man City contract
Man City reached an agreement with Ruben Dias over a new contract this week, and with the Portuguese star being the Manchester club’s main focus, the next deal to be worked on is likely to be Rodri.
It was reported by Fabrizio Romano this week that Man City are working on a new contract for Rodri that will be valid until 2029, which comes in light of rumours linking the midfielder with a move to Real Madrid once again.
More Man City News
News coming out of Spain now suggests that the 29-year-old is in no rush to sign a new contract at the Etihad Stadium, and that Real Madrid’s interest in the midfielder has the hierarchy at the Premier League club worried.
According to Diario AS, the next few months will be crucial for Rodri’s future as the Spaniard will have to decide whether to sign a new contract with Man City with terms that will see him move closer to Erling Haaland at the top of the club’s highest earners.
The report states that the Spaniard is in no hurry to put pen to paper amid interest from Real Madrid, as the La Liga club and Xabi Alonso still want the player.
Manchester City’s owners are said to be worried about the interest of the Spanish giants, with “alarm bells” going off at the Etihad Stadium as the threat of losing one of their key men now being a real possibility.
Losing Rodri might not be the end of the world for Man City
Following the Arsenal match, in which Rodri suffered his ACL injury last season, Guardiola labelled the 29-year-old as “irreplaceable”.
“He is strong, sad, of course, and waiting for the final decision of what he has to do. We don’t want it [the injury], but we will have a good season. I expect a lot from my players, and I have a duty to find a solution even if Rodri is irreplaceable,” the Man City boss said via The Guardian.
That proved to be the case as the Manchester club went on to experience an underwhelming 24/25 campaign; however, as the Spaniard gets older, that might change.
This season will tell a lot about how the midfielder has recovered from his ACL injury, with Rodri already set to miss the opening phase of the campaign with another issue.
The midfielder may never return to the levels he reached during the 23/24 season again, and therefore, Man City need to take caution when offering the player a new deal on a larger salary.
It will be interesting to see how the Manchester club perform when Rodri is not available throughout the upcoming campaign, and if it turns out that Guardiola’s side are okay, that could influence what the Premier League giants do next.