Real Madrid meltdown may give Man City a bigger prize than Ballon d'Or

Rodrigo 2025.

That was the front page of a Spanish newspaper as recently as last month, screaming that the best player at the European Championship was a priority target for the biggest Spanish club in the next summer transfer window. With a contract at Manchester City expiring in 2027 and no new deal close to being signed, 2025 was seen as the perfect time to strike.

You could certainly see the logic. Rodri has everything he wants at City, but if he wanted a change of scenery and a return to the city where he bolstered his reputation as a footballer at Atletico before celebrating Spain's triumph in summer Real is one of the only clubs that can match City's ambition.

READ MORE: Man City number one manager target as Amorim agrees to join Man United

READ MORE: Pep Guardiola is making his Man City contract decision simple

Except how would president Florentino Perez go about his negotiations now?

"Hi Rodri, we think you're great but we also thought it was such a disgrace that you beat Vinicius Jr to the Ballon d'Or despite a record-breaking unbeaten run at City and multiple trophies that all of us boycotted the ceremony and rubbished the award. Hala Madrid?"

As astonishing a strop it may be at executive level, how can those players not be embarrassed to have shown such disdain for a fellow professional - and one that has become the first winner for 64 years in the country where they play their football?

Dani Carvajal at least had the grace to call Rodri and congratulate him but why would the midfielder entertain anything Vincius and Jude Bellingham have to say in future - never mind play on the same team as them?

Real have been rightly savaged for their stance on the Ballon d'Or and in Manchester they will hope that