De la Fuente confesses: 'I thought Rodri was going to join Real Madrid'

Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has made a candid admission about this summer's most high-profile transfer saga: at one point, he was convinced that Barcelona star Rodri was Real Madrid-bound.

The revelation came during an interview with COPE this week, as cited by journalist Fabrizio Romano, in which De la Fuente lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes tension surrounding one of the blockbuster moves of the window.

Summer's biggest saga

The 30-year-old midfielder was, of course, at the heart of one of the most dramatic transfer storylines of the summer. After Rodri made known his decision to bring a close to his Manchester City spell, Real Madrid were quickly labelled as his most likely landing spot.

Los Blancos, in turn, set about securing a deal with both club and player alike, delighted to have finally sourced their long-term Toni Kroos replacement. Everything pointed towards the Bernabéu becoming Rodri's new home.

In the end, however, Rodri himself made the call to reject Florentino Pérez and co. in favour of none other than their arch rivals at the Camp Nou, delivering a seismic twist to the summer's transfer market.

'I have a very good relationship with him'

Despite the eventual outcome, De la Fuente has now revealed that he saw a Madrid move coming for much of the process. Speaking during his interview with COPE, he admitted:

"There were moments when I thought that Rodri was going to join Real Madrid. I have a very good relationship with him, so I know where things were going."

The Spain boss's admission offers a fascinating glimpse into how fluid the situation was behind the scenes, and underlines just how close the Treble-winning midfielder came to swapping the Premier League for the Spanish capital — before ultimately committing his future to Barcelona instead.