“I love that player” – Real Madrid presidential candidate outlines Rodri transfer ambitions | OneFootball

Rodri remains a clear target for Real Madrid this summer and a deal is much more probable if Enrique Riquelme is voted as the club’s next president, as per reports from Spain. 

The La Liga club have an election on June 7 to determine whether Florentino Perez, 79, will extend his year stay at the helm or if Riquelme can become only the club’s second president since 2009. 

In the last few weeks, Perez announced that elections would run due to Los Blancos’ failure to win a major trophy for the second consecutive season. The15-time European champions have also seen three managers come and go in the past 12 months.

Revamp behind the scenes in Madrid

However, the upcoming return of Jose Mourinho has welcomed optimism and hopefulness that the club can return to their golden days in the coming seasons.

It was revealed last week that Erling Haaland was back on Real’s radar despite having a contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2034 – amid a growing belief that Riquelme could take office in the Spanish capital.

And now, Rodri has been highlighted as another player that Riquelme would want at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the presidential candidate remarking that Real should have a player like the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.

Riquelme: I love Rodri, he should be playing for Real

“I love that player, he’s a fantastic player and he’s the type of player Real Madrid should have and who should be playing for them,” Riquelme told ESPN Spain. 

“But obviously, he’s at another club (Manchester City) and we have to respect that. Rodri is the type of player who should be playing for Real Madrid.”

The Spain international has a year left on his contract at City and it’s unclear what he plans to do after this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Have Real Madrid held transfer talks with Rodri?

Meanwhile, Cope’s Tiempo de Juego has taken to X to relay information from journalist Miguel Angel Diaz – that Rodri’s representatives have held talks with Riquelme, with the presidential candidate holding a strong desire to have the City player at Real.

Rodri’s camp insist there have been no negotiations, but the 2023 treble winner said in a radio interview in March that “you can’t ignore the best clubs in the world”.

Amid those rumours, Rodri encouraged City fans to not take snippets and watch the entire interview in full. Meanwhile, City are trying to tie the midfielder down to a new, improved contract before Real can make an approach. However, the aforementioned report has cited that City and Rodri remain far away from an agreement.