Real Madrid Dismisses Rodri and Olise Amid Mourinho's Reinforcement Plans
Real Madrid have drawn a clear line through two of the summer’s most persistent rumours: Rodri and Michael Olise are not coming to the Bernabéu. Not now.
Despite weeks of noise linking the Manchester City midfielder and the Bayern Munich winger with a move to Spain, club sources have told The Athletic that neither player features in Madrid’s plans for this window.
That stance is particularly striking in the case of Rodri. Fresh from a stellar campaign with Spain and recognition as best player at the 2026 World Cup, his name has been pushed hard in the Madrid press. Reports, most recently from Marca, have even painted a picture of a player eager to wear the white shirt, with sections of the board said to be urging Florentino Pérez to explore the possibility.
The response from inside the club is blunt: no.
Rodri’s history in La Liga with Atlético Madrid, his tactical intelligence, his control of tempo – on paper, it all fits. On the market, he would be a statement signing. Yet those close to Madrid’s decision-making insist he is simply not on the agenda. Not as a priority, not as a Plan B. This window is heading in a different direction.
Olise finds the same barrier. The Bayern Munich winger has been repeatedly linked with Madrid since his rise to prominence, and his profile – young, creative, technically sharp – usually aligns with the club’s long-term recruitment model. Even so, Madrid have been adamant: there are no talks, no negotiations, no back-channel discussions with Bayern.
The club have already gone as far as issuing an official statement denying any pursuit of the France winger. Internally, the message has not changed. The Athletic’s reporting underlines that Madrid do not view a deal for Olise as realistic or achievable at this stage of the summer.
So if it’s not Rodri, and it’s not Olise, what is the plan?
This is the first full transfer window of what Madrid view as the next phase of their project under José Mourinho. The Portuguese coach is pushing for reinforcement in two specific areas: a defender to stiffen the back line and an extra midfielder to deepen his options in the middle of the pitch.
He wants more steel. More depth. More room to manoeuvre across a long season.
The hierarchy, though, feel the heavy lifting has already been done. From their perspective, the core of the squad is in place and the frantic part of the market is behind them. For now, the emphasis is on trimming, not adding – moving players out before any serious move is made for fresh faces.
That internal tension is familiar at Madrid: a demanding coach, a president with a grand plan, and a transfer market that never stops throwing up tempting names. Rodri and Olise are the latest to be parked firmly in the “not now” column.
The question is whether that position holds once the window starts to bite and the season’s first cracks, injuries, and suspensions test Mourinho’s new project.
