Fernando Morientes has criticised Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the club’s handling of Rodri’s proposed move after the Manchester City midfielder chose Barcelona instead.
Rodri had appeared close to joining Real Madrid in recent months, but Barcelona entered negotiations strongly and changed the direction of the deal. The player subsequently decided to move to the Catalan club, prompting anger among figures close to Real Madrid.
The outcome has been viewed by some within the Madrid camp as a major failure. They believe the club allowed a transfer that should have been secured to slip away before Barcelona took advantage and claimed the player at the final stage of negotiations.
Morientes, a former Real Madrid striker, was among the strongest critics of the way the deal was managed. Speaking on El Partidazo on Cadena COPE, he questioned whether Real Madrid had genuinely wanted to sign Rodri.
“It’s a heavy joke. Real Madrid’s management is making fun of us a little. It is clear that Real Madrid did not want Rodri,” Morientes said, in comments reported by Mundo Deportivo.
The former Spain international argued that Real Madrid do not normally handle their biggest transfer targets in this manner. In his view, the club’s failure to complete the deal suggested that Rodri had not been treated as a priority.
“Real Madrid does not delay in situations like this. Perhaps they delay over the signing of a 14-year-old right-back, but not with players of this kind,” he added.
Morientes also rejected the suggestion that Rodri’s preference for Barcelona was primarily explained by the club’s style of play. He claimed Real Madrid had not done everything possible to put an agreement in place and was now attempting to shift responsibility on to the player.
“Real Madrid did not put everything they had on the table. And now they are trying to blame Rodri, saying that he wanted to move to Barcelona because of the style of play. For anyone who knows football, that is a bad joke,” said Morientes.
His criticism reflects the frustration surrounding a deal that had been expected by some observers to end with Rodri at Real Madrid. Instead, Barcelona’s intervention altered the negotiations and left the Spanish midfielder set to join the club’s traditional rivals.
Morientes pointed to Real Madrid’s history of completing high-profile transfers when the club has been determined to make them happen. He cited several prominent arrivals as evidence that the club had previously been capable of overcoming obstacles in major negotiations.
“When Real Madrid wanted these kinds of signings, it succeeded in completing them. Figo came, Zidane came, Owen came, Ronaldo came… So no one should come and tell me now that Rodri wanted to play somewhere else,” he said.
The comments have placed Perez and Real Madrid’s transfer strategy under renewed scrutiny after the club failed to secure a player who had been closely linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. For Morientes, the central issue is not Rodri’s decision to choose Barcelona, but the belief that Real Madrid did not make sufficient effort to prevent that outcome.
