{"id":47262,"date":"2026-05-17T09:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T13:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/17\/mourinho-targets-man-city-midfielder-as-first-signing-for-real-madrid\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T09:19:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T13:19:27","slug":"mourinho-targets-man-city-midfielder-as-first-signing-for-real-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/17\/mourinho-targets-man-city-midfielder-as-first-signing-for-real-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourinho targets Man City midfielder as first signing for Real Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/17\/mourinho-targets-man-city-midfielder-as-first-signing-for-real-madrid\/#Rodri_is_Real_Madrids_long-term_target\" >Rodri is Real Madrid&#8217;s long-term target<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/17\/mourinho-targets-man-city-midfielder-as-first-signing-for-real-madrid\/#Man_City_plan_to_keep_Spanish_midfielder\" >Man City plan to keep Spanish midfielder<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jose Mourinho&#8217;s potential return to Real Madrid is already making headlines for the transfer, and Rodri appears to be right at the center of the conversation.<br \/><\/strong><br \/>According to Football Insider, Mourinho wants Real Madrid to make the Manchester City midfielder the first of his second major signing at the Bernab\u00e9u.<\/p>\n<div aria-setsize=\"-1\" id=\"message-list_1773822614.804109\" style=\"clear:left;\">\n<div>\n<div aria-roledescription=\"message\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mourinho has not yet been officially announced as Real Madrid&#8217;s manager.<\/p>\n<p>According to Reuters, the player is still the manager of Benfica and his agent has been in contact with Madrid, but no formal offer has yet been confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>He also said he plans to make a decision on his future within the week.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rodri_is_Real_Madrids_long-term_target\"><\/span>Rodri is Real Madrid&#8217;s long-term target<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Rodri is an obvious target for Real Madrid. He is a Spaniard, experienced and technically elite, who has already proven to be one of the best midfielders in world football.<\/p>\n<p>He also won the 2024 Ballon d&#8217;Or, further increasing his status. A player like Rodri would be the perfect foundation for Mourinho.<\/p>\n<p>If Madrid are looking to rebuild their midfield, they need someone who can immediately show control, leadership and tactical intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>What makes this story interesting is the contract situation. Rodri&#8217;s current contract with Manchester City runs until 2027, meaning he is nearing the final year of his contract.<\/p>\n<p>That naturally creates uncertainty. If he does not renew his contract, City may need to seriously consider whether to sell him now rather than risk more difficulty later.<\/p>\n<p>Real Madrid said they were &#8220;making every effort&#8221; to sign him at Mourinho&#8217;s request, but suggested the transfer fee could be around 60 million euros.<\/p>\n<p>Under normal circumstances, that would be a bargain for a player of Rodri&#8217;s quality. However, the length of the contract, his age, and recent injury issues all factor into the equation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Man_City_plan_to_keep_Spanish_midfielder\"><\/span>Man City plan to keep Spanish midfielder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>However, City is not sitting idle. According to recent reports, efforts to renew Rodri&#8217;s contract are accelerating and an agreement is close to being reached.<\/p>\n<p>City Extra has reported that Man City have been working on a new package for several weeks, but there has been no formal approach from Real Madrid yet.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s important. There is a big difference between Madrid praising Rodri and actually signing him.<br \/>Transaction completed. City know how valuable he is.<\/p>\n<p>Even during a season plagued by injury problems, he has remained a key part of the team&#8217;s midfield. When he is fit, City look calmer, more controlled and much harder to break down.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Man City have smart transfer plans for rumored Arsenal and Man United targets<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jose Mourinho&#8217;s potential return to Real Madrid is already making headlines for the transfer, and Rodri appears to be right at the center of the conversation.According to Football Insider, Mourinho wants Real Madrid to make the Manchester City midfielder the first of his second major signing at the Bernab\u00e9u. Download the official CaughtOffSide app to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-47262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}