Rodri opens up on turning down Mourinho's Real Madrid to join Barcelona

Turning down Real Madrid isn't easy for anyone. Even less so when Mourinho himself had treated you, in his own words, "in an exemplary way." But Rodri did just that, and now, settled in at Barcelona, he has revealed for the first time how that summer of tough decisions played out, a summer that ended with him in blaugrana.

The Spanish midfielder, 30, left Manchester City after seven seasons to sign with Barça in a deal initially valued at 60 million euros. Along the way there was an offer from the club's fiercest rival, conversations with two top-tier coaches and, as the player himself admitted, a vacation that was far less relaxing than he would have liked.

"I would have liked to enjoy a more relaxed vacation this summer, but that wasn't the case," Rodri said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. Choosing between two of the biggest clubs on the planet, after all, isn't something you settle in an afternoon.

The call to Mourinho and the weight of the decision

Rodri was clear about what tipped the scales toward Barça: it wasn't about money or prestige, but something more rooted in football itself. "In the end, I went with the sporting side of things, with what excited me a bit more and with choosing the place where I felt I could win and grow the most as a player," he explained. Two names factored heavily into that: Deco and Hansi Flick. "In the end, Deco and Hansi convinced me," he admitted.

But before closing the door on Madrid, Rodri wanted to handle things with class. He spoke with Mourinho, who had made clear his desire to have him on the team. "I don't want to reveal a private conversation, but he obviously expressed his wish for me to go there and explained what, in his view, I would bring to the team," the midfielder recounted. And once the decision was made, there was a second call, this time to close the chapter with gratitude.

He treated me very well. When I made my decision, I also called him to thank him for the interest he had shown in me and for how he had behaved toward me.Rodri

On the Portuguese coach, he had nothing but praise: "He's a great coach, he's proven that over many years, and Real Madrid is going to be a tough rival in the league this season."

Leadership and experience for a young locker room

Rodri's adjustment to Barça has coincided with an ideal start to the season for Flick's side: six wins in six matches (five in LaLiga and one in the Champions League) and 26 goals scored in that stretch. The Catalan club is defending back-to-back LaLiga titles and dreams of ending an 11-year drought without lifting the Champions League, and in that plan, Rodri's experience carries weight.

"I can contribute in different ways," said the former City man. "If we're talking about experience and leadership, I think I can bring a lot to a group of players that's fairly young and maybe hasn't faced certain situations as much as I have." As for his role on the field, he prefers humility: "I'm here to adapt to the team. This is already a team that works well, we've seen that they're already winners, and I want to add my grain of sand and make the most of my strengths."

From Flick, he took away a message that stuck with him from day one: keep improving, never settle. "One of the first things Hansi told me was to have the hunger to improve every day, to never settle, to never relax, to never believe I've reached my limit and to always demand more of myself," Rodri said. He closed with a thought that sounds like a roadmap: "That's what will lead you to success sooner or later. I think Barça has that room for improvement to reach the kind of excellence that can lead to winning the big European titles, something it has already achieved in Spain."