Real Madrid want ‘historic’ signing of Barcelona superstar engineered by Florentino Perez | OneFootball

Real Madrid and club president, Florentino Perez, would love nothing more than to sign a Barcelona superstar who is among the very best in the world, though we can reveal which equally high profile deal is advancing instead.

Relations between Real Madrid and Barcelona are always frosty, and moves like the one that saw Luis Figo ditch Barca for Real way back in 2000 will live in infamy.

Direct deals between the clubs have been in short supply since then, with Javier Saviola in 2007 generally recognised to be the last high profile player to jump ship.

However, it’s common knowledge Real Madrid are in the market for a readymade central midfielder at season’s end and per the latest from Marca, the man they want plays for Barcelona.

Citing journalist Roberto Gomez who appeared on one of their shows, Marca revealed Real Madrid dream of pulling off a ‘historic’ raid on their bitter rivals for Pedri.

The 23-year-old is widely regarded as being among the best players in the world right now. Indeed, only Vitinha – who won the quadruple with PSG last year – finished higher in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings as far as midfielders go.

“The player that Real Madrid, its president, would like to sign is a midfielder… and his name is Pedri,” Gomez said.

Doubling down on that claim, the reporter added: “The player Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid would like is Pedri.”

But for obvious reasons, the chances of the audacious move transpiring are virtually nil. Gomez continued: “What you like is one thing, what you can do is another.”

Instead, Real’s transfer attentions are currently on Manchester City’s Rodri who during the international break, issued what can only be described as a come-and-get-me plea to Los Blancos.

What’s more, our sources at TEAMtalk have since been informed Rodri’s transfer to Real Madrid is quickly ramping up…

Latest Real Madrid news – Rodri deal ADVANCING / Lineker on Tuchel’s Trent snub

In other news, Real Madrid are stepping up their pursuit of Rodri, with TEAMtalk able to confirm that plans are advancing to bring the Manchester City superstar back to Spain, and with the player now very much in favour of bidding farewell to north-west England after a seven-year stay in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Gary Lineker has hit out at England head coach Thomas Tuchel over his “insulting” decision to select Ben White over Trent Alexander-Arnold.