Rodri Explains Choosing Barcelona Over Real Madrid: Deco and Hansi's Influence

Real Madrid thought they had him. All summer, the message around Valdebebas was the same: Rodri was there for the taking, the next great midfielder ready to slip into white and extend a dynasty.

He didn’t. He went to Barcelona.

Speaking to MD, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner finally walked through the decision that stunned Madrid’s hierarchy and electrified Barcelona’s project, making it clear this was not about politics, emotion, or revenge. It was about football.

A holiday that never was

Rodri admitted his summer was anything but restful.

“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. Instead of beaches and silence, there were calls, meetings, and pressure from two giants circling the same prize.

“Many things had to be analysed, and such an important decision had to be made with two of the best clubs in the world.”

Madrid pushed hard. For much of the window, they were confident. They had the sporting project, the prestige, the recent Champions League pedigree. They also had Jose Mourinho on the phone, personally outlining Rodri’s role in his new-look side.

And still, it wasn’t enough.

Sporting choice, not emotional payback

Rodri framed the decision in starkly professional terms.

“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. That line will sting at the Bernabeu: he looked at both projects and decided he could grow more in Barcelona’s.

“It was not an easy decision at all, saying no to Madrid is not easy, and above all that, they behaved exemplarily with me.”

That respect ran both ways. Madrid courted him with seriousness and care, and Rodri wanted it known. There was no falling-out, no dramatic rupture, no last-minute row.

“In the end, Deco and Hansi convinced me,” he concluded.

That is the crux. Deco, architect of Barcelona’s recruitment drive, and Hansi Flick, the coach tasked with restoring the club’s competitive edge, sold him a vision sharp enough to cut through everything Madrid put on the table.

Mourinho’s role – and response

Rodri also lifted the curtain slightly on his exchanges with Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid head coach who had made him a priority.

“I don't think it's his thing to reveal a private conversation,” Rodri said, choosing his words carefully. “But he obviously expressed his desire for me to join, and he told me what I could bring to the team. The treatment was very good.”

Mourinho’s pitch was clear: come to Madrid, anchor the midfield, become a pillar of a new era. It was direct, ambitious, and respectful.

When Rodri finally chose Barcelona, he didn’t disappear or let the club find out through intermediaries.

“When I made the decision, I also called him to thank him for his interest and treatment,” he revealed. “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.”

No bridges burned. No bitterness. Just a player who chose one superclub over another and made sure the other side heard it from him.

Ballon d'Or boycott “not a factor”

One subplot had threatened to cloud the story: Real Madrid’s decision to boycott his 2024 Ballon d'Or victory. It was easy to assume resentment might have lingered and nudged him away from the Bernabeu.

Rodri shut that door firmly. He made it “very clear” that the boycott played no part in his thinking. The choice, he insisted, lived on the pitch, not in the politics around it.

So the picture is simple and brutal from Madrid’s perspective: they wanted him, they treated him well, they had Mourinho pushing, and they still lost him on purely sporting grounds.

For Barcelona, it is something else entirely. They didn’t just sign a Ballon d'Or winner. Deco and Hansi Flick won a straight duel with Real Madrid for a player who believes he can win and grow more in their colours.

The next Clásico will not just be about points or pride. It will be about a midfielder who looked both giants in the eye and chose one.