The winners of the battle to sign Rodrygo in 2026 has already been named, with Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez already deciding when a 2026 transfer can be done – and with the move set to hugely boost Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur.
The Brazilian has fallen down the pecking order at Real Madrid under Xabi Alonso, where he no longer finds himself first choice. And with the arrival of Kylian Mbappe the previous summer effectively pushing him out of the first-team picture, it was no surprise to see the 24-year-old heavily linked with a move away.
Indeed, strong interest was reported in Rodrygo from the Premier League, with Liverpool and Manchester City also joined by north London pair Arsenal and Tottenham in tracking his signature.
And while PSG were also credited with an interest, the 24-year-old ultimately ended up staying put at the Bernabeu, where he will continue to fight for his first-team place and try and persuade Alonso to alter his opinion on him.
However, regardless of how many minutes he racks up this season, it’s reported that Perez has already decided that the writing is on the wall for the 87-goal forward and renewed efforts to cash in on him will be made ahead of the 2026 transfer windows.
Indeed, according to Fichajes, the favourites to seal his signing have already been named, with Manchester City said to be already working on a deal to bring the player to the Premier League – and as soon as in the January window.
And they report that Pep Guardiola is ready to follow up his interest in the star, seeing him as the ‘perfect fit’ for his squad and ‘essential’ towards their push for Premier League and UEFA Champions League glory this season.
To that end, the report claims Real Madrid have already named their price for the 33-times capped Brazil winger to move to the Etihad, with a reduced fee of €80m (£69.7m, $94m) likely to be enough to convince Los Blancos to sell.
Man City move for Rodrygo will be music to Tottenham’s ears
While the winter window is often something of a damp squib, City showed earlier this year that they are not immune to splashing the cash to fuel their quest for success in this period.
Indeed, they spent heavily on the likes of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in a combined £190m splurge to bolster Guardiola’s options at the time.
As a result, the report claims City will happily look to bring in Rodrygo in January, as opposed to waiting until next summer and amid fears they could miss out on the dazzling star.
As a consequence of that raid, Tottenham Hotspur are also likely to benefit, with City offsetting the cost of signing Rodrygo by offloading another Brazilian, Savinho, to Frank’s side.
The north London side held extensive talks over a summer deal for the winger, only to ultimately miss out.
However, a report on Friday insisted that a move to bring Savinho to north London is far from dead and that Frank was ready to push through a double £90m raid on City once the winter window opens for business.
Journalist Graeme Bailey claims: “I think there is a real chance Spurs revisit this one, but much will depend on the coming months and how much he features for City.”
Real Madrid transfer news: Strong Guehi links; Erling Haaland ‘desire’
Selling Rodrygo to City could also aid Los Blancos’ quest to land a top Cityzens star in return, per reports, amid fresh claims that Erling Haaland wants to move to the Bernabeu – though Perez will reportedly sell another huge name to fund such a deal.
Meanwhile, one of Real Madrid’s brightest young players has been described as an “enormous talent” by an icon, as Liverpool learn why he was never going to move to Anfield this summer, with his decision to join Xabi Alonso’s side made as soon as Los Blancos came into the frame.
Elsewhere, Real have taken a huge step in their quest to sign Marc Guehi ahead of Liverpool, with the central defender out of contract at Crystal Palace at the end of the season.