Spanish national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has revealed that at one point this summer, he was convinced that Barcelona star Rodri was Real Madrid-bound.
Midfielder Rodri was for his part of course at the heart of one of the most high-profile transfer sagas of the summer.
After the 30-year-old made known his decision to bring a close to his Manchester City spell, the aforementioned Real Madrid were quickly labelled as his most likely landing spot.
Los Blancos, in turn, set about securing a deal with club and player alike, delighted to have finally sourced their long-term Toni Kroos replacement.
In the end, however, Rodri himself made the call to reject Florentino Pérez and co. for none other than their arch rivals at the Camp Nou.
As alluded to above, though, at one point at least, Rodri’s national team manager was convinced that his engine room metronome was Madrid-bound.
Speaking during an interview with COPE, as cited by journalist Fabrizio Romano, this week, Luis de la Fuente admitted:
“There were moments when I thought that Rodri was going to join Real Madrid. I have a very good relationship with him, so I know where things were going.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
