Rodri says he chose Barcelona over Real Madrid for sporting reasons, not because of the noise around his Ballon d'Or win. He also said the Madrid side treated him well and that he called Jose Mourinho after making his decision to thank him for the interest.
The sporting case for Barcelona
Rodri was blunt about the basis for the move: “In the end I made a decision on the sporting level.” He added that the choice came after analysing two of the biggest clubs in the game, then said, “Deco and Hansi convinced me.”
The fit on the pitch was part of that logic. Rodri’s 7.01 rating in La Liga this year points to a steady level, while Barcelona finished first in La Liga in 2025. Real Madrid were second that year.
Why the Ballon d'Or boycott did not sway him
Rodri also addressed the theory that Real Madrid's boycott of his 2024 Ballon d'Or victory nudged him away. He said it did not. “I already said it, at the time it did not affect me because that was my day,” he said, adding that he tries to “abstract myself from this kind of thing”.
That lines up with the wider picture around his recent form too. He posted a 7.57 rating at the World Cup in 2026, another decent marker that the football side stayed front and centre while the off-field chatter built around him.
The more interesting detail is the way he handled the Madrid link. Rodri says the club “behaved exemplarily” with him, and he thanked Mourinho after the decision rather than using the courtship to frame the move as a snub. The decision he describes is a football one first, and the current numbers sit with that version of events.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →
