Rodri’s glittering seven-year stint at Manchester City looks to be coming to an end.

But as the 30-year-old World-Cup winning captain nears a return to his home country of Spain, he faces a decision: which of its two most historic clubs to join.

The Athletic reported that Real Madrid were working on a deal to sign the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner close to two weeks ago.

Barcelona are now exploring a deal of their own. Sources close to the situation — speaking anonymously to protect relationships — suggest he is attracted by their football style, as well as his familiarity with many in the dressing room.

Madrid are in a state of flux after finishing eight points behind La Liga champions Barca last season. They failed to win a meaningful trophy in each of the last two campaigns, cycling through three managers in the process, while a fourth, Jose Mourinho, arrives amid uncertainty after 13 years away. Superstar winger Vinicius Junior has been targeted by Arsenal, but also has an improved renewal offer from Madrid.

Barcelona would seem to present a more stable environment for Rodri’s tempo-setting, counter-pressing skillset. Their tactical identity is strongly defined after two successful seasons under Hansi Flick, similar in style to Pep Guardiola’s City, while many of Barca’s squad — including midfielders Pedri, Gavi and Dani Olmo — are Rodri’s international team-mates.

Rodri’s Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final on July 19 (Elsa/Getty Images)

As The Athletic reported in the Transfer DealSheet on Tuesday, Madrid’s interest in Rodri remains.

But could Barcelona’s late play change things? Would a move to the Camp Nou make more sense?

Rodri has been a foundational pillar of City’s success, playing a leading role in four Premier League titles, five domestic cup wins and a Champions League title in 2023. 

His natural ability on the ball — one of the most gifted passers of his generation — has seen him dictate City’s play, while his innate sense of defensive positioning and strong tackling has helped him anchor the midfield, reliably protecting his team from opposition counter-attacks when the ball drops loose.

Such a skill set would seamlessly fit into Flick’s midfield, where full-backs push high and midfield partners flood into the final third to overload the opposition. Rodri would do much of what he has done for years in the Premier League; drop between the centre-backs, spray passes into the channels, and pick his moments to get forward and attack the spaces on the edge of the box himself.

Here is a clear example of his passing ability for Manchester City, taken from a 3-1 win over Copenhagen in 2024. As the deepest midfielder, he spots the run of Jeremy Doku well before receiving the ball, and then pitches a looping pass over the opposition shape for his winger to run onto. 

It is the kind of distribution — effortless, inch-perfect and quick — that allows teams like Barcelona to progress through the gears even when the opposition sit deep.

Based on this evidence, Rodri would have few issues adapting to Barcelona’s pass-heavy build-up.

According to data from The Athletic’s team playstyle wheels, Flick’s team were the most stylistically similar team to Rodri’s City last season, circulating the ball and dominating territory, holding a high line and creating chances through intricate passing sequences rather than more direct, long balls in behind.

Madrid also look to control possession, but have leaned into quick counter-attacking more often in recent seasons. Particularly if Vinicius Jr stays, and Mourinho persists with their 4-4-2 shape out of possession, Rodri may be tasked with covering large distances to keep the defensive shape, much in the way that Aurelien Tchouameni has been caught out in recent years. 

The structure at Barcelona would undoubtedly be more protective of Rodri in the heart of midfield.

The way Rodri played at this summer’s World Cup also hinted at how he could adapt at Barcelona.

Spain’s opening 0-0 draw against Cape Verde prompted questions around Pedri, who did not look his usual influential self in a more advanced role. But national team coach Luis de la Fuente found a winning formula against Saudi Arabia, Austria and Portugal, as Rodri anchored the midfield and rotated positions with Pedri, allowing them to pick up the ball in deeper areas and progress the play.

As we can see below, Rodri would often anchor the midfield and protect the two centre-backs, allowing Olmo to find pockets of space further ahead. Spain scored eight goals and conceded zero across those three games.

In that deep role, Rodri brings balance due to his unerring ability to be in the right place at the right time. His duel-winning capabilities are all the more important given that the defence is often exposed when City or Spain lose the ball, given the number of players they commit forward.

That knack of winning possession up high is complemented when surrounded by other players who are switched on and look to counter-press quickly.

As we can see from the example below against Portugal, Rodri is surrounded by four team-mates — including Olmo and Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi — helping box in the opposition while he steps in to make the tackle to snuff out a potential counter-attack at source.

In La Liga last season, no team allowed the opposition less time on the ball per passing sequence than Barcelona. Rodri would be a welcome addition to their well-drilled defensive shape.

Rodri would also be joining a number of well-known international team-mates if he were to accept Barcelona’s approach. There were eight Barca players in Spain’s World Cup squad.

At Madrid he would find familiar ground in a reunion with Bernardo Silva. Across 16,700 minutes on the pitch at City (the most of any player across Rodri’s career), Bernardo and Rodri developed a strong understanding with the ball. Off the ball, Bernardo’s relentless running complements Rodri’s sense of positioning to ensure that they are rarely overrun in midfield.

Alongside the incredible athleticism of Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde, and the solid defensive profiles of Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, Madrid have options to beef up the centre of the pitch and ensure that Rodri is not left doing too much of the dirty work. But there is still work to do for Mourinho to figure out their strongest defensive shape.

And looking more generally to Rodri’s career minutes, he is much more familiar with Barcelona’s squad through appearances for former clubs and the national side.

Rodri’s high quality with and without the ball helps him adapt to different scenarios, but since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in September 2024, he has been bypassed more frequently, especially if his team do not control possession or leave him with too much space to defend. His performances at this World Cup saw him back to his imperious best, his skillset platformed by a well-drilled Spanish system.

He has the attributes and experience to be a resounding success at Madrid, but Barcelona may be a more assured destination.

Coco Gauff has criticized people using the WTA Tour’s gene testing policy to create “animosity towards the trans community”.

Speaking at the Canadian Open in Toronto, the two-time Grand Slam champion said “I definitely support the trans community, but I also support the need of creating fairness in sport” when asked about the tour’s decision to introduce a one-off test for the SRY gene.

“I understand the reasoning behind it. I do think that this kind of conversation has created a lot of animosity towards the trans community, which I’m not really a big fan of,” Gauff said Wednesday after defeating Kayla Day 6-2, 7-5 in her opening match at the WTA 1000 event, one rung below the Grand Slams.

“I also understand, I guess, the biological difference and the need to protect that and preserve that. So I think it’s a conversation that is very nuanced, and I need to have a nuanced answer.

“So, yes, I guess I kind of agree with trying to protect the fairness in women’s sports. But I also do not like the attack that it is creating. People who don’t really care, but just want to use this as a reason to attack the trans community. So I’m not really a big fan of that either.”

There are no known transgender women ⁠currently active on the WTA Tour. The tour’s previous policy included provisions for transgender women and players who identify as non-binary to compete in its events, subject to meeting a baseline for the concentration of testosterone present in their blood.

The new policy, which the WTA said is designed to “preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions,” distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity, and between biological females and biological males, according to the policy. Those terms are now defined by the WTA as the respective possession or absence of the SRY gene, which is involved in male-typical sex development and is found on the Y chromosome.

The policy includes exceptions for athletes with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome “or other disorder of gonadal development,” in which the presence of testosterone has no impact on an athlete’s body.

In her news conference, Gauff suggested that the process “could have been more transparent” among players, suggesting that some on the tour had only found out about the policy when it was announced.

Other players on the tour have taken different positions. In a news conference ahead of the Canadian Open, women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said that she “feels like it would be not really fair for the woman to compete against biological man.”

Following her win over Daria Kasatkina, world No. 2 Elena Rybakina said in her news conference: “If we got to do it, we will do it. For me, I won’t say it’s unnecessary, but I think it was without these tests also fine. But if we need to do it, we will do it.”

Gauff’s next match in Toronto is against Greece’s Maria Sakkari Friday.

Paul Scholes carved a legendary playing career by thinking moves ahead of his opponents and now, as Salford City’s chief football advisor, he is projecting where the League Two club could head under new owners.

“These are all very successful business people and they’re trusting us with their money to put a squad together to get out of this league,” says Scholes, sitting in the manager’s office at Littleton Road training ground. “Not just to get out of this league, but to go again, to get into the Championship.

“The dream is Premier League one day. How realistic is that? I don’t know. But we’ve got Bournemouth and those types of clubs as examples. We’re a long way off that, don’t get me wrong — but especially with the new owners coming in, the vision is they want to be up there.”

In May 2025, David Beckham and Gary Neville led a consortium, together with United States-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies, to buy the club. There are 22 shareholders in the new ownership group, including AIG, Salford’s largest shareholder and long-term strategic partner.

That takeover has led to Salford making radical changes this summer. Karl Robinson, who steered Salford to fourth in League Two — the club’s highest finish — before being beaten in the play-off final by Notts County, was dismissed, replaced in June by Peter Cklamovski, an Australian whose previous coaching roles were in his homeland, Japan, and the Malaysian national team.

David Beckham, CEO Gavin Fleig and Paul Scholes at Wembley during Salford’s League Two play-off final defeat against Notts County (Paul Harding/Getty Images)

Salford have overhauled their medical department, committed more money to signings steered by head of recruitment Ross Duncan, and are renovating their training ground, Littleton Road, which is owned by Manchester United.

A major change that will be instantly apparent from today is the new colour of Salford’s home kit. The red is being replaced by orange.

In reality, though, they are reverting to the old colour.

In 2014, five of the Class of ’92 — Neville, his brother Phil, Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt — took the decision to move from the club’s traditional orange to red. Beckham acquired 10 per cent of shares in 2019 before assuming a bigger role through last year’s takeover and has been at the heart of this summer’s switch in kit colour.

“The kit change came from a bit of self-reflection from Gary and David,” says Gavin Fleig, Salford’s chief executive. “David was always an advocate, saying orange is the heritage colour so we should find a way to get back to that.”

In line with FA regulations, Salford engaged a consultation process from October to December 2025, through which 77 per cent voted for the colour switch, while another question about altering the badge received 72 per cent backing.

“We want to own the colour orange,” adds Fleig. “David always refers to when you walk around Salford you see a combination of red and blue shirts. Now you’re going to walk around Salford and see orange.”

Beckham looked through hundreds of shades of orange before picking the one he felt best for Salford, who were formed in 1940.

David Beckham selected the shade of orange to be used in the new kit (Salford City)

The new crest features a lion facing forwards (rather than backwards, as seen previously), a concentric ring to represent the gas works of the city, lettering that reflects the typography of Salford’s precincts, and a rose in reference to Salford Lads Club. “One of the most iconic buildings in the north of England,” says Fleig.

Salford’s Moor Lane home ground, now named the AIG Stadium, is being revamped to align with this change too.

Scholes acknowledges the decision to change from orange to red 12 years ago was based on the Class of ’92’s United background. But with a crowd of 80 at his first game against Curzon Ashton, they felt they had latitude. Now, attendances are almost 4,000, and they took 1,000 to Oldham Athletic away last season.

“Looking back, was it the wrong thing to do?” he wonders. “I wouldn’t call it wrong, it was just different. There were a few discerning voices, but there were only 80 of them, so it didn’t really matter that much! I love red, I love United, but once I’ve started seeing orange I really like it. People have taken to it.”

What happens on the pitch will define whether these visual refinements are the meaningful start of a new era. Hiring Cklamovski, who had not managed in England, is a bold direction to take. His task will be to get Salford promoted.

Cklamovski, who assisted Ange Postecoglou at Australian youth levels, with Panachaiki in Greece, Melbourne Victory, the Australia senior team and Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, hugely impressed Scholes during the interview process.

“Gavin brought all the candidates together and we did 20-odd hours of interviewing. Funnily enough, Peter was the very first one we spoke to,” says Scholes. “I’d never heard of him, had to google him. He worked a lot with Ange Postecoglou, which is a reference point. Peter was very impressive, right from the word go. You’d get off the call, and me, Gavin and Ross went, ‘Wow, that was good’.

“Other people impressed us but his methods, the way he spoke, I thought he had command of the room. He has a bit of character about him. Everything he showed us from his training to the stuff on the pitch was really impressive.”

Cklamovski, 47, says he “loves” being something of an unknown in England. “What people think, say, do outside of these four walls is not much attention for me,” he says. “I focus on the day we have here. Make sure we get the best out of the playing group. Don’t waste a second. Set world-class standards here.

“Hopefully that generates support from the community of Salford and they get behind the team. We’re trying to achieve something special that will last in our hearts, minds, souls forever.”

Peter Cklamovski was previously head coach of the Malaysian national team (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)

Cklamovski was on the coaching staff when the Australian men’s team lifted the Asian Cup, and then won the J-League with Yokohama as Postecoglou’s assistant.

As a manager himself, he saved Montedio Yamagata from relegation in Japan’s second division, before taking charge of FC Tokyo in the top flight and fielding the team’s youngest-ever starting XI with an average age of 22.7 years. Attendances rose to an average of 34,000, including a club record of 60,988.

Cklamovski will have smaller crowds in League Two but he hopes to draw as many people as possible to watch with an attractive brand of football. “Something that’s going to get the people off their seats and jumping for 95 minutes,” he says.

Cklamovski is Salford’s sixth permanent appointment since 2018, and Scholes accepts sacking Robinson was “tough”. He also appreciates that frequency of change might make prospective appointments cautious.

“We tried not to be like that, obviously,” he says. “We have a much bigger budget this year. But you can look and say, ‘We want to win the league, we want to get promoted’. Of course, we wanted to do that when our budget was half this.”

Cklamovski is embracing the challenge. “I’m very ambitious,” he says. “Every step of the process was a moment to check and challenge myself, ‘Is it the right move for me?’. Every moment of that reflection always felt right.

“Scholesy has got a wealth of knowledge and a real knowledge base of English football and the league, and that’s connected to all the staff in the club.”

Cklamovski spoke with Postecoglou. “All the way through,” he says. “He gave some really good advice. I always use Ange as a sounding board. I spent a long time with him. Super person, super coach, and a super leader. He was in the UK for five years. I lean on him as a special person in my life.”

Fleig was hired by Salford last October, having spent 17 years at Manchester City and their parent company, City Football Group (CFG), in a variety of roles originally centred on analysis, scouting and operations. He met Cklamovski in 2018 when he was at Yokohama, a CFG club.

Fleig explains: “When you have that longevity of knowing the quality of the person, the tick box was: this is a figurehead we need now.

“His personal aspirations match the club’s and the level of expertise fits our DNA. It was a really clear match and he was the standout candidate.

“My mentor Brian Marwood (managing director of global football at CFG) always says, ‘You get the right people around you in a club, and you can achieve amazing things’.”

The new orange kit harks back to the club’s traditional colour (Salford City)

Fleig was CFG’s director of talent management and development pathways for seven years before being hired by Salford and he feels his experiences make him well-placed to guide the club.

“I started my career at Bolton Wanderers, a brief period at Newcastle United, and then at City, I was first focused on the technical area around talent, football strategy, multi-year planning.

“But then being part of the leadership group at City gave me the chance to sit among executives from the CEO Ferran Soriano, CFOs, marketing, commercial, infrastructure. I absorbed a lot about all the different dimensions. I had a unique exposure at City, which meant I had the football expertise, but a really good grounding about how a football club also needs to operate on the business side.”

Fleig believes an emphasis on youth will be important. “We’re in the footprint of probably one of the two best places in this country for talent. One is south London, the other is Manchester. That gives us a real advantage. I would love to see a flow of players from our own academy rather than loaning players in.

“We have all the ingredients, now we just need to put the work in and hopefully over the coming two, three, four seasons we can start to see real success. I’d like to think we’re a destination for a top young talent.”

Having Scholes in the building, who can draw on his own experiences of going from United’s academy to unprecedented glory when talking to transfer targets, gives Salford an edge.

“I don’t do negotiations, my role really is to try and persuade them to come, which can be a challenge in itself, especially the market we’re in now,” Scholes says. “You’re speaking to a different calibre of player, who possibly think they should be playing in League One, bottom end of the Championship — and they probably should be. There’s a big stigma about getting into League Two. We have to try to sell the dream.

“I started three or four years ago, helping with recruitment, then obviously with Ryan and Nicky leaving last season, Gary asked me to look after the football side.

“I’m passionate about it because I love the place, I want us to be successful. I enjoy it when you get one over the line that you think is going to be difficult.”

The training ground refurbishments will help, Scholes thinks. “This building is going at a level where you are thinking Championship football club. It’s something we needed to do because the last five or six years we’ve probably still acted a little bit like a non-League club.”

It is good to hear Scholes, famous for his withering putdowns on YouTube, does not spare himself or his club from the same scrutiny.

He appears on Neville’s Overlap channel, as well as his own podcast with Butt and Paddy McGuinness, but he gave up his job as a TNT Sports pundit so he could focus on caring for his son Aiden, who has non-verbal autism.

“When Gary asked me to do it, I said, ‘Look, I can only do it if it works round Aiden’. He’s good with that. They all understand if I can’t do something. I won’t do anything now that disturbs his routines. His routine has got to be there, if it’s not, he is gone.”

Paul Scholes brings deep football knowledge to the Salford project (Salford City)

Scholes often documents his time with Aiden on his Instagram page. “A lot of people like it,” he says. “You get a lot of nice messages from people who are in the same situation. There are kids out there whose parents are struggling as well, so it helps them.”

Making Salford appealing to kids and their parents in the local area, wrestling them away from United and City, is a major ambition.

Fleig says: “I would love that we have fans coming through the door because we’re playing great football, we’re winning matches, and we’re doing brilliant work in the community, engaging with families to give them an experience.

“Second, watching Premier League football is very expensive. We have always maintained that we’ll be one of the cheapest tickets in the division we’re playing in. We recognise the challenges of living in this part of the world.

“The third part is, the fans for Man United or Man City, it’s a generational thing, so the next generation of six- to eight-year-olds have to support somebody.

“We made 250,000 contacts in the community last year. Salford has a community of 300,000 people. We just need three per cent of our city coming to Salford week in, week out and you get 10,000 attendees.

“When we talk around the reality of maybe one day being like a Bournemouth, we live in a community in the part of the world where we have all of the tools at our disposal.”

Scholes adds: “I felt that growth coming last year. Can we get to a 12,000-seater stadium and fill it? That’s the dream. But it’s a long way to go.”