{
  "id": 7759580,
  "title": "Rodri explains why he called Jose Mourinho after choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/rodri-explains-why-he-called-jose-mourinho-after-choosing-barcelona",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-16T10:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rodri-explains-why-called-jose-100500287.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rodri recently discussed his decision to join Barcelona over Real Madrid in an interview with MD. The Manchester City midfielder explained that the choice was a sporting one, as he sought a peaceful vacation and wanted to find a club where he could grow and win. Although Real Madrid was his first choice, the Spanish giants ultimately failed to secure his signature. Rodri praised Real Madrid's treatment of him throughout the transfer window, stating that the club had been exemplary. He also thanked Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid's head coach, for his interest and expressed his admiration for the coach's abilities. Rodri emphasized that Real Madrid's decision to exclude him from the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony had no impact on his decision, as he focused on his football career.",
  "summary": "During the summer, Real Madrid failed in their bid to sign Rodri – and to make matters worse, he ended up at arch rivals Barcelona. Strong efforts were made to convince him to join, and despite bein...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}