Real Madrid lost their clearest route to signing Rodri after the Spain captain showed hesitation, José Mourinho said, and the midfielder has now completed a €75m (£65.4m) move to Barcelona. Mourinho confirmed he spoke to Rodri and that the club made him an offer, but the player's reluctance left the manager unwilling to push the deal through.
Speaking on El Chiringuito, Mourinho outlined the conversations and the decision that followed. "I spoke to him a couple of times and Real Madrid made him a very good offer," he said. Mourinho added that the club were in direct contact with Rodri without opening talks with Manchester City, and that the player's uncertainty created hesitation on his side. "Rodrigo had doubts, he doubted. And his doubts created doubts in me," he said, while also calling Rodri "an extraordinary player" who had behaved properly toward Real.
Rodri left Manchester City after the World Cup with three offers on the table, from Paris Saint-Germain, Real and Barcelona. He turned down PSG because he wanted to return to Spain, and at his Barcelona presentation the midfielder said the club had been "always my first choice". Barcelona will integrate him alongside eight teammates from Spain's World Cup squad.
Mourinho played down the transfer as a battlefield victory, saying "Victories are on the pitch, trophies." He also insisted that Real do not necessarily need another signing, even while acknowledging the market remains open. "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," he said, adding "It’s complete, closed. I like [my squad] a lot."
The club has not replaced Rodri, leaving a conspicuous midfield gap after two trophyless seasons. Mourinho argued Real have internal options and room to improve players rather than buying to cover shortfalls. "I don’t miss Rodrigo. 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," he said, concluding that a player's profile can change over time.
For now the immediate consequence is clear: Barcelona strengthen with a World Cup-winning captain who picked them as his destination, while Real must decide whether to trust Mourinho's assessment or return to the market to plug a midfield hole before the window closes.
