Why Rodri chose Barça instead of Real Madrid

It was one of the most exciting transfer sagas of the summer.

Ballon d'Or winner and World Champion Rodri concluded his chapter at Manchester City after seven highly successful years.

Since August, the experienced midfielder (30) has been under contract with FC Barcelona. The Catalans paid around 60 million euros in transfer fees for the services of the Madrid native.

Intriguingly: Arch-rival Real Madrid also intensely vied for Rodri's services. The central midfielder now explained his motives to "Mundo Deportivo".

"By no means an easy decision"

Rodri recounts: "It was more of a process than a decision. When the Barcelona option arose, it became clear to me that this was the best for me for many reasons. I have always paid attention to where I can win and be happy, and above all, where I can grow as a player. And that's why I chose Barça - also because of the generation of players who play there and because of what Hansi is building there."

Rodri doesn't deny that he wasn't necessarily averse to joining arch-rival Real: "It was by no means an easy decision - saying "no" to Madrid is not easy, especially since they behaved impeccably towards me."

The 70-time international has since played in five matches for Barcelona.