Pep Guardiola’s warm appraisal of Rodrygo after a recent match has renewed speculation about the Brazil international’s future. Guardiola spoke with Rodrygo after the game and made his admiration clear: “I told Rodrygo how good he is,” the City boss revealed. “He’s a player of another level… this guy is a player on another level. I’m glad he’s back from injury. He’s very, very good.”

The remarks came after a display that represented one of Rodrygo’s best nights in months. Deployed on his unfavored right wing, he opened the scoring with a crisp swipe into the bottom corner to end a record-breaking eight-month goal drought. He also created the game’s most chances — five in total, all of which were squandered — and won the most free kicks. Despite those contributions, and his own admission that “it wasn’t enough” to avoid defeat, Madrid fell 2–1.

Guardiola’s praise will inevitably stir headlines because City have long felt the sting of Rodrygo’s interventions. He scored twice in the final minutes of the 2022 Champions League semifinal to drag Real Madrid back into contention, and he found the net in both legs of the 2024 quarterfinal. That history, combined with summer reports that City were among suitors when his future at Madrid looked uncertain, means any public endorsement from Guardiola is likely to be noticed.

Rodrygo himself has sought to focus on his club responsibilities. Having struggled for a starting berth this term, he pledged to knuckle down under Alonso and made a point of celebrating his goal with the manager. “I liked his performance,” Alonso said of Rodrygo. “The goal was a consequence of other things he did well. It’s one of today’s good pieces of news to see him with that individual quality, that flair, and he also scored, which was important for him. ]

The combination of a decisive individual performance, a high-profile admirer, and a recent transfer backdrop ensures the conversation around Rodrygo’s next steps will continue. For now, the immediate focus remains on his form and fitness.

Real Madrid and Manchester City have met ten times on the Champions League stage in the last five years, producing a sequence of tightly contested and decisive encounters.

The 2024–25 knockout playoff produced a standout second leg at the Bernabéu, where Kylian Mbappé scored in the fourth minute, doubled his side’s lead just after the half hour and completed a 61st-minute hat trick. He became the first player in Champions League history to score thrice at the Bernabéu and the Camp Nou. Nico González scored late but Madrid advanced on the night.

That tie had begun at the Etihad with both sides out of form. Erling Haaland and Mbappé traded early blows. Haaland thought he had sealed the game from the spot in the 80th minute, but Brahim Díaz and Jude Bellingham responded with two goals in six minutes to give Real Madrid the advantage heading to the return leg.

On Apr. 17, 2024 at the Etihad, Rodrygo opened in the 12th minute and Kevin De Bruyne levelled in the 76th. The match remained tied after extra time and was decided on penalties, where Andriy Lunin saved spot kicks from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić to eliminate the defending champions.

The Bernabéu first leg of the 2023–24 quarterfinal featured an early Bernardo Silva strike, a Rúben Dias own goal and Rodrygo’s response. Phil Foden and Joško Gvardiol put City ahead before Federico Valverde forced a draw.

On May 13, 2023, City overwhelmed Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2022–23 semifinals. Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, with Manuel Akanji and Julián Alvarez adding further goals to seal a comprehensive victory that propelled City to the final.

The 2022–23 first leg saw Vinicius Junior score in the 36th minute and De Bruyne equalise from nearly the same area. The 2021–22 return in Madrid produced Rodrygo’s two late goals to force extra time and Karim Benzema’s penalty in extra time completed a memorable comeback.

Their 2021–22 first leg at the Etihad finished 4–3 after a flood of goals from both sides. In 2019–20, the round of 16 ties were split: the first leg ended 2–1 to City after a De Bruyne penalty and a late red for Sergio Ramos; the second leg at empty stands saw Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus secure a 2–1 win following Raphaël Varane errors and a Benzema reply.

Across these ten matches, small margins and dramatic swings repeatedly decided who advanced.

Real Madrid have informed Liverpool that they will not pursue Ibrahima Konaté in 2026, according to The Athletic. The club, which has made a habit of operating in the free-agent market, made the contact directly and asked Liverpool to treat the matter as closed. As the report notes, Madrid’s recent arrivals via that route include Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba, and Liverpool felt the impact of such activity with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit last summer.

The reason for Madrid’s position was not revealed. The Athletic’s report simply says the approach was “directly and unequivocally” communicated to Liverpool, cutting through persistent transfer speculation.

On the field, Konaté’s recent form has drawn attention. The defender, who was an imperious operator during last season’s Premier League title triumph, has struggled through the current campaign. Even during a run of seven straight victories at the start of the season, he rarely offered much reassurance alongside Virgil van Dijk. The most notable exception was a commanding muzzling of Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres, but otherwise Konaté’s performances have been judged below the standard expected of him.

Those performances reached a new low in a midweek thumping to PSV Eindhoven. That 4–1 defeat prompted a rare public message from the normally restrained defender. “We have to take this moment on the chest,” Konaté wrote on Instagram after spending much of Wednesday’s 4–1 thrashing at the hands of PSV veering around Anfield in circles like a shopping trolley with a broken wheel. The post followed a period in which Arne Slot has taken a defiant tone when faced with Liverpool’s dire run of form, a stance that was echoed by one of his squad’s most disappointing performers.

With Madrid’s stance now on record, Liverpool can treat speculation over a 2026 move for Konaté as settled for the moment, even as questions remain over the defender’s form and the club’s response to it.