Real Madrid eye Rodri alternative but face battle with Chelsea to sign star worth £77 million

Real Madrid had set their sights on bringing Manchester City star Rodri to the Bernabeu, and it appeared for several weeks that a deal would be struck; however, their El Clasico rivals would swoop in and hijack the deal.

It has now been reported that the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has agreed to terms with Barcelona, with the Catalan club needing to agree to a fee with the Premier League club to bring the Spain captain to the Camp Nou for the upcoming campaign.

This failure to secure the signature of Rodri has now left Los Blancos scrambling to find an alternative who can operate just as well in the role as the 30-year-old, and it appears they have found their man.

Rodri

Yet, it must be noted, in order to sign this Rodri alternative, they must convince him to select the Bernabeu and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid project over Stamford Bridge and join Xabi Alonso at Chelsea before agreeing to a deal with Arsenal, which is estimated to be worth €90 million (£77 million), according to Mundo Deportivo.

Martin Zubimendi is seen as this perfect alternative to Rodri, and this should come as no surprise to football fans around the world, particularly due to the hierarchy in the defensive midfield position with Spain.

The Arsenal star was seen by Spain manager Luis de la Fuente as the deputy to his Rodri, as he claimed that Zubimendi was the ‘second-best’ defensive midfielder in the world behind the Man City star.

Speaking to TVE, he said: “With all due respect, and I don’t mean to offend anyone, I said that doubting Rodri was an insult to football intelligence, obviously.

“He’s the best player in the world in his position, knowing that we have Martin Zubimendi behind him, who is also another great player, surely the second best in the world.”

Martin Zubimendi made 34 Premier League appearances for Arsenal last season (Image: Getty)

The 27-year-old has demonstrated exactly how he can fit seamlessly into the role that Rodri has perfected when Spain beat England in the 2024 European Championship final, as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner left the pitch at half-time injured, with Zubimendi replacing him, with the biggest compliment being that you could not notice that the Madrid-born midfielder had left the field.

While Real Madrid will be keen to bring Zubimendi back to La Liga, they will have to beat Chelsea to the signature.

It was reported by FourFourTwo that Xabi Alonso is a huge admirer of the 27-year-old, even attempting to bring him to the Bernabeu, and were reportedly the frontrunners to sign him from Real Sociedad before Arsenal secured his signature.

Now, Alonso will be aiming to deny his former club and manager, Mourinho, from signing Zubimendi, as he aims to bring him to Stamford Bridge to add him to his Chelsea project.

As the pair of Chelsea and Real Madrid weigh up making a move for Zubimendi, they may take confidence they can strike a deal for the Spaniard following the Gunners’ signing of Bruno Guimaraes, which could mean a decrease in minutes for the 27-year-old.