Rodri Explains Choosing Barcelona Over Real Madrid: Deco and Hansi's Influence
Real Madrid thought they had him. Barcelona ended up parading him.
Rodri has finally broken his silence on the summer saga that saw him turn down the Santiago Bernabeu and choose Camp Nou instead, revealing that the decision was driven purely by football.
Speaking to MD, the midfielder admitted the weeks around his move were anything but a holiday.
“The first thing I have to say is that I would have liked it to have been two or three weeks of quiet vacation and they were not at all,” he said. “Many things had to be analysed, and such an important decision had to be made with two of the best clubs in the world.”
Real Madrid pushed hard. For much of the window, they were seen as clear favourites to land him. Rodri doesn’t hide how hard it was to say no.
“In the end I made a decision on the sporting level, so it gave me a little more desire and to understand where I could win and grow more as a player,” he explained. “It was not an easy decision at all, saying no to Madrid is not easy, and above all that, they behaved exemplarily with me. In the end, Deco and Hansi convinced me.”
Those last five words cut straight to the heart of the story. Deco and Hansi Flick sold him their project, and that was enough to pull him towards Barcelona, even with Madrid’s offer on the table.
Respect for Mourinho, but a different path
Rodri also detailed his conversations with Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho, both before and after he chose Barcelona. He kept the content of those talks private, but the respect was obvious.
“I don't think it's his thing to reveal a private conversation, but he obviously expressed his desire for me to join, and he told me what I could bring to the team,” Rodri said. “The treatment was very good. When I made the decision, I also called him to thank him for his interest and treatment.”
He did not shy away from praising the Portuguese coach.
“I think he's a great coach, he's already shown it wherever he's gone in his great stages and Real Madrid are going to be a tough opponent for this league.”
One issue Rodri was keen to shut down was any suggestion that Real Madrid’s boycott of his 2024 Ballon d'Or victory had influenced his choice. He made it clear that decision played no part in his thinking.
In the end, it came down to football, growth, and a project that Deco and Hansi Flick managed to sell better. Now the real test begins: proving on the pitch that he chose the right side of Spain’s fiercest divide.
