Rodri returns to the Bernabéu but only as a rival

It is being talked about again, just as it was a year ago, but as was also the case in the spring and summer of 2025, Real Madrid do not have the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner on their list of targets for the upcoming transfer window. The club intend to strengthen the midfield, but Rodrigo Hernández, 29, is not part of the plans being drawn up by Madrid’s hierarchy. The Manchester City holding midfielder is under contract until June 30, 2027, and for now his future revolves around the renewal offer put forward by the English club’s executives.

Many of City’s players are tying their futures to Pep Guardiola’s decision on whether or not to remain in charge of the Manchester side. The latest to cast doubt on his future is none other than Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder’s contract expires in three and a half months, and whether he stays on at the 2023 European champions depends entirely on his own decision.

Rodrigo Hernández is back at the Santiago Bernabéu and, for the first time, he does so as the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, something injuries had so far prevented. His return coincides with yet another knockout tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City – the seventh in 10 years – in what has become the most frequently repeated matchup in European soccer today.

With the two teams facing off again, the midfielder’s future has once more been linked with Real Madrid. His improved form and growing importance in Guardiola’s current City side have put him back in the shop window, but for now sources at the Bernabéu deny that there is any plan to try to sign the player who will be their opponent in the next two European matches.

At Valdebebas, there has always been admiration for and appreciation of the Spain European champion’s game, even more so now that he has again become an important figure in Manchester City’s starting lineup. Influential voices have pointed out on different occasions just how much he could offer, but it has gone no further than that. His injury put any attempt at an approach firmly on hold.

This season he has played 24 matches for Manchester City – he did not feature in the league-phase game played at the Bernabéu – and he has appeared consecutively in the club’s last 11 Premier League matches. Having not featured for Spain since September 2025, Luis de la Fuente has repeatedly acknowledged that he is eagerly awaiting the midfielder’s return, something that could happen in two weeks’ time, when the squad is announced for the Finalissima.

Antonio Hernández, the midfielder’s father, said at the National Sports Awards ceremony: “He’s very happy where he is. You’ll understand the natural discretion in these circumstances. I don’t know anything, and I truly mean that. I don’t know anything – the story still has to be written.” Asked about his son’s future, he also acknowledged that “he’s desperate to go to the World Cup.”

Wharton of Crystal Palace, Kees Smit of AZ Alkmaar and Vitinha of PSG are some of the names most frequently mentioned as Real Madrid look to strengthen the midfield. All of those deals are under consideration. There is still time to analyze in detail what is available and which targets genuinely fit what the team needs and align with the strategy laid down by the club.

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