Real Madrid legend sends transfer message to Manchester City’s Rodri | OneFootball

Real Madrid and Spain legend Iker Casillas has admitted his personal desire to see Manchester City’s Rodri eventually wear the white shirt of Los Blancos.

Rodri has been heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for much of this year, with the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner into the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Much of that speculation stemmed from Real Madrid‘s recent presidential election, with challenger Enrique Riquelme publicly pledging to sign Rodri alongside Erling Haaland had he defeated incumbent Florentino Perez – a campaign that drew public backing from several Real Madrid legends, Casillas among them.

Perez ultimately won the vote comfortably and has since pressed ahead with his own summer rebuild under returning manager Jose Mourinho, who has already been credited with City-related transfer interest of his own this window.

Despite Perez’s well-documented reluctance to pursue Rodri specifically, Casillas – one of the most decorated players in the club’s history – has now stepped back into the conversation publicly.

Casillas: ‘I always love seeing the best players at Real Madrid’

Speaking in a new interview with Stake, the 45-year-old said: “Rodri is one of the best players in the world and I always love seeing the best players at Real Madrid.

“Right now, Rodri is under contract with Manchester City but hopefully, he’ll be able to wear the Real Madrid jersey in the future.”

Turning to Rodri’s standing with the Spanish national team heading into the FIFA World Cup, Casillas added: “For Spain, I believe that Rodri, given his experience and the kind of player he is, he has the leadership qualities to be that key figure on the team at the World Cup.”

Does Casillas’ wish carry any real weight at Real Madrid?

The comments carry a certain irony given Casillas was among the legends who publicly backed Riquelme’s campaign – the same candidate who explicitly pledged to deliver Rodri to the Santiago Bernabeu, only to fall well short in the vote.

Perez’s own position was that he does not want to sign Rodri this summer, with direct club-to-club communication already having taken place between Madrid and City on the matter.

Nothing in Perez’s conduct since his re-election has suggested that stance has shifted, even as his hierarchy presses ahead with other signings and continues to be linked with further City players under Mourinho’s guidance.

Whether sentimental backing from respected figures like Casillas eventually filters through to influence Real Madrid’s actual transfer strategy remains to be seen, but for now his comments read more as a personal wish than any genuine signal of intent from the Spanish capital.