Next Man City signing? Guardiola 'in love' with €1bn Real Madrid superstar

Tom Weber

• Updated: 11 Feb 2025 15:48 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is 'in love' with Real Madrid attacker Rodrygo, according to Spanish media.

The Cityzens are set to host Los Blancos on Tuesday evening in the most anticipated tie of the Champions League play-off round. Man City are coming off a massive January spending spree in which they splashed €218 million on new recruits, but they failed their first big post-window test when they got thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola is keen to ensure that this next massive encounter will end on a more positive note and he is certainly right to be confident as Real Madrid are a wounded animal due to their injury crisis in defence.

READ MORE: Man City target ANOTHER €200m spending spree

However, the Spanish tactician will also be paying close attention to one of the members of Real Madrid's attacking ranks. In the summer, FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that Man City had a strong interest in Rodrygo.

Relevo has now confirmed our reporting and suggests that the interest in the Brazilian has not disappeared.

Guardiola 'in love' with Rodrygo

The Spanish outlet goes so far as to say that Guardiola is 'in love' with Rodrygo and would jump at the opportunity to bring him to the Etihad. However, the 24-year-old is fitted with a €1 billion release clause, which makes this a difficult undertaking.

Rodrygo was unwilling to leave Los Blancos in the summer and he recently reiterated that he intends to stay put 'for many years,' with concerns that his influence would wane after Kylian Mbappe's arrival increasingly evaporating.

READ MORE: Man Utd make SHOCK move for ex-Man City superstar

"The last time they met, [Guardiola] already showed how much he likes him," the report states. "At the last knockout match between Real Madrid and Man City, the quarter-finals of the previous Champions League, Pep repeatedly sought to cross paths with Rodrygo. He took advantage of the mixed zones and the entrance to the changing rooms to build a connection with the star."

However, his attempts to sway the Brazilian were in vain. Nevertheless, it remains his dream to sign him for Man City. Man Utd and Saudi clubs are also credited with a concrete interest in Rodrygo.